Sacrifices
by Girliegirl1179
Summary: Steph gets sucked into a secret mission with Ranger. What lengths is she willing to go and what sacrifices are they willing to make for one another? Will Ranger pay the ultimate price and ruin his chance with Steph? Rated Mature.
1. Chapter 1

Sacrifices

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Not mine and they never will be.

A/N: A few months ago, I participated in a Round Robin. One of the rules was that it couldn't lean Babe or Cupcake. And, well … you guys know me. I'm a die hard Babe. So I asked if I could take my part and write it into a Babe story. So this story is a spinoff of the May round robin on Babecakesrus. I'd like to thank all the ladies for their wonderful chapters that inspired this story. Special thanks go to Jenny (aka Jenrar) the queen of smut and commas. Love ya, Babe.

**Steph's POV**

I sat up in bed, startled awake. _By __what__? _I looked around my bedroom, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. I lay back down, and my heart rate slowly returned to normal.

A second later, I heard Tank's booming voice. "Steph! Bombshell … Wake up!" His voice was followed by a pounding on the door and the ringing of my house and cell phones. _What the hell is going on?_

I jumped out of bed and ran to the door, throwing it open. Tank, Bobby, and Lester walked in, guns drawn. Bobby started checking the locks on my windows, while Lester swept the apartment. Tank wrapped me in his arms. "Thank God you're okay."

Once Bobby and Lester gave the all clear, they started tearing the place apart. They ran their hands around the door seal, took my phones apart, skimmed their fingers around the window frames, and checked the fire alarms.

"Tank, what the fuck's going on?"

He placed his hand across my mouth to keep me from talking, and placed his finger to his lips, his eyes pleadingly asking for my silence. I nodded my head in agreement.

We watched the guys methodically searching my apartment. For what, I didn't know. It seemed like hours passed, though it was really only a few minutes, before Lester said, "All clear."

"Is someone going to explain to me what's going on?" I asked in an exasperated tone.

"Have you heard from Ranger?" Tank pinned me with a glare.

"No, I haven't talked to him a few days. Why? What's wrong?"

"Stephanie … I need you to be honest with me."

Frustration was starting to set in. If I didn't start to get some answers soon, someone's balls were going to become acquainted with my lethal knee. "Why would I lie? I'm always honest with you."

Lester smirked at me, clearly about to retort, and bring up the fact that I constantly blend the lines between truth and lies to get rid of my Merry Men bodyguards.

"Okay, fine! I might tell little white lies to lose my bodyguards. I don't need babysitters." I crossed my arms and huffed. "Tank, I swear to you. I haven't heard from Ranger since Sunday."

"Did he say anything about going out of town? Did he ask you for anything?"

I quickly thought back to the last time we'd talked. It'd been a brief phone conversation. "He called me to check in. He'd heard about the run in with Morelli at the PD, and wanted to check and make sure I was all right. Told me that he might have a job for me in a day or two if I was interested. I asked if I needed to buy a new distraction dress. He told me not to worry, he'd take care of it, and then he was gone."

They watched me speculatively.

"You three either tell me what's going on, right now, or get out."

"Ranger's missing," Tank said in a dead pan tone.

Ice gripped my heart, "What do you mean, he's missing?"

"Monday night, Ranger's GPS went offline. We followed standard operating procedures and called his cell. He answered and said it was a check, to make sure everyone was doing their job. Tuesday night, the same thing happened. This time, he disabled the GPS unit in the Turbo and also turned off his cell. We had no way to contact him. Standard operating procedures were also followed that night, and we mobilized and went to search his last known location. He was there waiting for us. I questioned what he was doing, and was told that he was testing our reaction times. Last night, it happened again. Except this time, when we arrived at his last known location, we found his personal trackers, his cell and sat phones, and the GPS unit has been turned off in the Turbo."

"Could it be another test?" I asked hopefully.

"No! He wasn't testing our reaction times to make sure we were doing our jobs. He was testing his system to see how much time he had to get away. Something's wrong. He's in trouble, and for whatever reason, he's shut us out," Lester answered, going to my fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a swig.

I thought back to another time when he was in trouble. He was FTA and wanted for questioning in the death of Homor Ramos. I'd helped him then; why wouldn't he ask for my help now? _Didn't he trust me?_

"Okay, so I understand coming over here to ask me if I've seen him, but I don't get what the security sweep was for and what this all has to do with me? I'm grateful that you told me, but Ranger only tell me what he thinks I have to know. I don't see how I can help you."

"Until we figure out what's going on, we are on high alert... which puts you on lock down," Tank added in his don't-give-me-any-shit voice.

"What! Why?" _Great, now__ I'm reduced to one word statements._

"Do you really want him to explain? The answer's obvious," Bobby said, gesturing for Lester to throw him a bottle of water also.

I tried to quirk my eyebrow, but was unsuccessful. "Sure, guys. Make yourselves at home," I said in mock exasperation. "And, yes! Explain!"

"Steph, we don't know what happened to Ranger, and until we do, our job is to keep you safe."

"But why? We don't even have a relationship. Even if someone is out to get him, why would _that _put _me_ in danger?"

The guys all said in unison, "Scrog!"

I had no retort to that, as it was a valid point I hadn't thought of, so I walked into my room and hurriedly packed a small bag. I walked to the door with the bag over my shoulder. "Well, someone grab Rex and let's get this show on the road."

Lester's mouth hung open, Bobby grinned, and Tank breathed a sigh of relief. "We really thought we'd have to stun you and lock you up on seven."

I glared. "Yeah, well if there's a chance that some psycho is after me again, I'd rather not sit here and be live bait. At least if I go with you, I'm safe. Plus, you'll need my help to find Ranger."

We walked out to the parking lot, and I was unsurprised to see Cal waiting inside the lobby. The guys surrounded me, and we hustled to the idling SUV. Arriving at Haywood a few minutes later, the guys escorted me to the elevator. Tank looked over and asked, "Four or seven?"

"Seven." _I needed to feel close to Ranger._

The elevator stopped at five, and Lester, Bobby, and Cal walked into the control room. Tank rode with me up to seven. I opened the door, and he placed Rex's cage on the breakfast bar. Turning to me, he said, "If you hear from him, let me know. I don't care if he tells you not to. Promise me."

I wouldn't lie to him, but my loyalty would always be to Ranger. "I'll tell you if I can. I can't promise to, though." I shook my head. "I think that he's more likely to call you over me. In fact, I should be asking you to promise me, but you feel the same way I do. Neither of us would betray him."

Tank half-smiled and kissed my curls. "You're one of a kind, Bombshell. One of a kind."

He let himself out of the apartment, and I walked into Ranger's bedroom. I curled up on the bed and pulled his pillow, inhaling his scent. _Please let him be safe._

I must have dozed off, because all of a sudden, my cell phone was ringing. _That's odd, I don't remember having that ringtone._ I quickly recognized the song. It was _Addicted _by Saving Abel. Ranger and I heard this the last time he took me to dinner, and I'd told him I'd love to see them in concert.

I ran to the kitchen and frantically searched through my bag. I finally found the blasted thing and hit talk, bringing it to my ear. "Hello!"

I heard, "Babe," and the line went dead.

TBC …

A/N: Continue? Hit the review button and tell me what you think?


	2. Chapter 2

Sacrifices

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: If you recognize the characters, they belong to her. If you don't, well there mine.

A/N: This chapter is reward number 8 for the B_S challenge. I hope you enjoy it. Please review. Special thanks to Marge, who's chapter in the RR inspired this one. To Angie, thanks for helping me plot out the next couple chapters. To Jenny (aka Jenrar), thanks for taking the time to Beta this, for not killing me when I rewrote this chapter a third time, and for all the fun IM conversations.

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**Steph's POV**

Fear like I hadn't felt since the day I was taped to the chair watching Ranger fall from Scrog's bullets gripped my heart. Images of that night flashed through my mind; the look of love that met my eyes before turning to one of acceptance as he turned to willingly trade his life for mine and Julie's was the one that stuck out the most.

I was fighting tears as I picked up the landline and dialed Tank. He answered on the first ring. I must have gasped, because he said, "Everything okay, Bombshell?"

I hesitated. _Should__ I tell him about the call? Maybe they can trace the incoming calls on my cell? _"Can you come up here?"

"I can, but it will be forty-five minutes to an hour. We had a problem down on Stark." I heard Tank yell at someone. "Look, Bombshell, I've got to go." And with that, he was gone.

I looked over at the clock and realized that it was 2:00 in the morning. _Shit, now__ what was I going to do to occupy my __time?_I walked into the living room and picked up the remote for the TV. Thank God, Ranger had finally given me a lesson on how to work the damn thing. I was flipping through the channels when Batman finally called back.

I answered it before it got through the first ring, half expecting it to be some psychopathic killer who found the phone Ranger called me from. Now the psycho was holding Ranger for some enormous amount of money, or going to tell me to trade my life for his._ Would I do that? It wasn't even a question. Oh __hell yeah__, I would!_

"Ranger!" I yelled into the phone.

"Babe, I need your help, but I can't really explain right now. Did you tell anyone I called?"

"Yes, I called to tell Tank, but he was busy with a problem on Stark Street. He said he'd be here in forty-five minutes."

"Shit! Damn it! We've got to hurry then. Listen, grab your key fob for seven and go to my safe."

"Ranger, what's going on? At least tell me your okay!"

"Stephanie!" he growled.

_Oh __shit__, full name!_

"I'll explain everything when you get here. Now go to the safe." He threw in the one word he knew would get me moving. "Please!"

I quickly complied, but grumbled, "That's cheating, and you know it!"

"Babe!" he almost chuckled; it seemed I was amusing him again.

"Okay, I'm at the safe," I said with a sigh.

"Into the touch pad, enter my birthday, your initials, my initials backwards, and the last four of your social security number."

"What! Why do you have my stuff in the combination to your safe? And geez, Ranger, excessive much?"

"I needed something that'd be easy for you to remember, but that was still difficult enough to discourage thieves or snoopers," he said matter-of-factly. "Focus, Steph. We don't have much time."

"Okay, I'm in." I looked around and gasped. "Jesus, Ranger, what are you doing? Stockpiling for World War III?" The safe was the size of my bathroom. The walls were lined with weapons of all sorts, jewelry, and money. Lots and lots of money in all different kinds of currency.

The more I looked around, the more I realized why he felt his life didn't lend itself to relationships. Explaining this to a normal woman would be difficult, and she'd probably never understand. As for me, I'd never been what anyone would call normal. And seeing this filled in the blanks. I finally understood. I always wanted to be Wonder Woman, although an international spy seemed pretty damn cool, too. Ranger just needed to remember that, so he would know this kind of thing wouldn't scare me off.

Ranger's voice brought me out of my musings. "On the right wall, do you see the doors?"

"Yes."

"Aim your key fob at the doors."

I did as instructed, and all the door popped open. I stood gaping for a second.

"Go to third door. Inside, you'll find instructions that will get you out of the building and to the car. You're going to have to hustle, Babe. You need to be at the airport before Tank gets back to the building. There's a flight leaving at 3:15. I've purchased your ticket. It's waiting for you at the airport. I've got to go, Babe."

"But Ranger!"

"Babe, it will be okay. Just follow the instructions exactly as I've written them. See you soon." And with that, he was gone.

I walked over, passing the other doors, and glanced inside. I saw a blue ring box with a white ribbon, and the urge to look inside was strong. Unfortunately, he'd given me full access to all his secrets, but no time at all to be nosy. I pulled out a black backpack, a watch, and several sheets of paper. I glanced down and started reading.

_**Babe,**_

_**I know that you are curious about everything that's going on, and I promise to explain when you get to me. You will need to follow these instructions to the letter. If you don't, the guys will catch you, and they can't know what's going on.**_

_**R**_

_What the hell is going on that the guys can't know? _I wondered as I flipped the paper over to the list of instructions.

_*** Make sure you remove everything from the compartment. Aim your remote back at the **__**wall, and the doors will**__** shut automatically. Go to the dressing **__**room, put**__** the watch on, and change into your RangeMan uniform, black Nike Shoks, then hide your hair in my RangeMan hat.**_

I did as instructed and closed up the safe. I placed the watch on my wrist and walked into the dressing room to change into the clothes Ranger had instructed. Then I piled my hair on the top of my head and shoved one of his hats over my mountain of curls. I glanced down at the notes.

_*** Aim your remote at the shoe rack on the back wall in the dressing room. Then crawl **__**through the opening**__** and pull the door shut behind you. Climb to the top of the ladder.**_

I pointed my key fob at the shoe rack underneath the layer of clothes. The rack swung out, revealing a small opening. I looked at the opening in the wall. _Would I even fit?_ It was a good thing I'd skipped the extra Tasty Cakes today!

I pulled the backpack on and crawled towards the hole.

_Batman, you are so going to owe me for __this!_

TBC …

A/N: Will Steph get away from the MM? Why does she need to? What's going on? I just know that you are dying to tell me your thoughts.

So hit the little review button and tell me. Come on, you know you want to.

I'm currently not offering sneak peeks of this story because I am using it for the challenge. Once that's over on the 25th I'll start back with giving sneak peeks to reviewers.


	3. Chapter 3

Sacrifices

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.

A/N: Okay, I know that the last chapter was short, and this one's not much better. But I'm posting them faster than I normally do because of the challenge. So you are getting an update like every two days. They will get longer, later. Thanks for the reviews.

Thanks go to Jenrar, for being an awesome beta, and for helping me make sure that everything works. To Angie for helping me hatch this escape.

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**Steph's POV**

I crawled into a small room that held a metal ladder. It looked to be a ventilation shaft. I got in and stood up, glancing at the ladder, which looked to be ten to twelve feet and very dark up at the top. Quickly looking through the backpack, I found a small Maglite. Squatting down, I leaned inside the dressing room, grabbed the handle on the door, and pulled it closed. Then I climbed quickly to the top of the ladder and stepped onto a small landing. _Now __what, Batman__?_

_*** Below is what you are going to do. Underneath it, you will find detailed instructions for each section where needed.**_

_**On the roof is a window washing unit. You're going to need to check the time on your watch, figure out what time the cameras do their sweep, run to the cart, flip the speed to high, then press the down button. Once at the bottom, get out of the cart and send it back up. Head to the corner of Haywood and Tucker St. and drop the FedEx package out of the backpack in the drop box. Run five blocks to the parking garage. Pull the black fob out of the backpack, and go to the third underground level. The car is parked in space 69. You won't need a key, as the fob is an intelligent key. Once you get to the car, hit the button on the handle, and the car will unlock. You will find the next set of **__**instructions inside.**_

_Holy Crap, Batman! How in the hell am I supposed to do this._

_**To figure out the camera times, look at the two other sheets of paper. Those will tell you the precise time that the security cameras will do their sweep of the roof. They are programmed to sweep at different times on different days.**_

_**You need to time this precisely. You will have from one minute, forty-five seconds to two minutes to do this without being caught by the camera.**_

_**(Babe, I did it in one minute, ten seconds. You can do it in a minute thirty. No problems.)**_

I flipped the papers over, desperately looking for the real way out and not finding anything. I began to stress. _What? He couldn't be __serious!_

Looking at my watch, I had five minutes before the next gap in the camera sweep. I opened the backpack to locate the items for later, and got ready to go. Looking through the louvered metal panel at the top of the air duct, I could see the window washing unit all the way across the roof. _Of course it couldn't be closer to me._

I watched the watch tick closer to time. Five … four … three … two … one. Pushing open the grate and shutting it behind me, I ran towards cart, jumped in, and hit the speed button for high then the green button to go. The cart quickly fell the seven floors, causing me to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from screaming. I promised myself that I'd get all my yelling out when I strangled Batman. _Oh __boy__, was he going to get it._

The cart came to an abrupt halt, and I jumped out, hitting the button to return the cart to the top, before running away from RangeMan, feeling horrible for the panic and fear I knew this would cause my friends. They were already panicked over Ranger's disappearance, and I knew having me vanish from inside a secure building was going to terrify them.

I ran towards the FedEx drop box, already breathing hard. Dropping the box inside, I noticed that it was addressed to Tank. _Well, maybe they wouldn't be worrying too long. _I took off running towards the parking garage, and after three blocks, I was gasping for breath. _Okay, maybe __Ranger was right__ and I should take up running._

I reached the parking garage and took the stairs. Unfortunally, I didn't have time to take the elevator. Sighing to myself, I hit the bar to open the door. In my exhausted state, I didn't feel like running down the stairs, so I cheated by sitting down on the railing to slide down each flight. _If Ranger could only see me __now, _I chuckled to myself. I reached the third level, ran to space 69, and couldn't believe my eyes.

Sitting in the spot was a Nissan Nismo 370Z, solid black, with tinted windows. I hit the button on the handle, and opened the door. "Holy shit, this is a bad ass car," I said to myself while throwing the backpack into the passenger seat and grabbing the next set of directions.

_**Babe, **_

_**You're doing great. Leave the lot and drive towards Trenton Mercer Airport. Pull over somewhere; make sure there are no cameras. Grab the duffle bag out of the back, put on the disguise, and take out the purse. When you get to the airport, park in assigned spot **__**G455, which has been prepaid.**__** The space is in **__**shadows**__**, and you'll be able to get out without being seen. Your identification, money, and **__**sat**__** phone are inside. I've got everything else you'll need with me. I'll meet you when your flight lands.**_

_**Be safe, Babe. I'll see you soon. **_

_**R**_

I reached down and hit the start button on the console, then pulled out of the lot and drove towards the airport. Pulling over at an abandoned building, I grabbed the duffle bag out of the back and stepped out of the car. As I removed the disguise out of the bag, I suddenly realized what the offending black material was. "_Oh hell no_!" I muttered to the empty parking lot.

As I pulled the material over my head, I knew one thing for certain. If he wasn't dead by the time I got there, he was going to wish he was.

TBC …

A/N: So, what's her disguise? Leave a review and tell me what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

Sacrifices

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

A/N: Thanks to everyone reading this story, and to everyone that's reviewing. If you're not, please do. I'd love to know what you think. Thanks to Jenrar, beta extraordinary, for everything she does. To Angie who helped plot part of this chapter.

**Steph's POV**

I got back in the car and drove towards the airport. I would put the headpiece on after I parked the car. The less time in this crap, the better. He knew me well enough to know anything but this outfit would be okay.

I was trying to be mindful of my speed, since getting pulled over probably wouldn't bode well for the whole "under the radar" escape plan. And since Ranger had obviously worked so hard planning it out to the letter, screwing it up now would be a shame. _Insert eye roll here._ Still, any cop I passed would be suspicious, just based on the way the car looked, not to mention the fact that any sane person would be at home asleep at this hour.

I pulled into the long term parking lot and finally found space G455. I sighed as I placed the white coif and black veil on my head, and cursed Ranger under my breath. I pulled the purse out and checked the contents. I thumbed through the cash, checked my ID, and snorted. He couldn't be serious. I checked the battery on the sat phone before stepping out of the car. I tried to keep my head down as I walked away, and shook my head in amazement as the car locked itself automatically.

I weaved my way inside and found the counter for Continental Airlines. A young man was half asleep behind the counter, and I cleared my throat to get his attention, causing him to almost fall out of his seat.

"Yes … uh … how may I help you?"

"I have a ticket here waiting for me."

"Oh … okay … I'll ummm … I'll need your ID." He looked at my outfit and threw in a, "Please?"

I rolled my eyes as I looked down to pull out the identification, and mentally chanted over and over that Ranger was a dead man. The boy handed me my tickets and told me to hurry over to security. I handed over my license and ticket at the checkpoint before baggage check, and the guard smiled at me.

"Aren't you too pretty to be a nun, Sister Mary Katherine?" He held out my documents and handed them to me.

I smiled politely, remembered to play the part, and replied in a demure voice, "Thank you," before walking on ahead to baggage check. I placed my purse on the conveyor belt and walked through the metal detectors.

The guard holding the wand motioned to my purse. "Traveling light, Sister?"

"Yes, this trip was very sudden. I'll figure it out when I get there. Thank you for your concern."

Thank goodness they'd bought it. I thought they would figure out my ID was fake, or some disaster would happen and Trenton PD would show up and recognize me. I yawned, and finally realized just how tired I was.

Finally arriving at my terminal, I checked in for the flight and was told they were boarding in ten minutes. A yawn escaped my lips, and the late hour finally started to catch up to me. I walked up to a drink machine, pulled some dollars out of my purse, and hit the button for a coke. The machine told me they were out. I pressed another button and got the same response. "Stupid fucking machine!"

As the words left my mouth, an older man walked behind me and laughed. I immediately realized my mistake. Nuns don't curse.

"How many Hail Mary's is that going to cost you?" he asked as he got his laughter under control.

"A few, I'm sure. This …" I motioned down the robes, "is all kind of new to me."

"Yeah, the fuck gave you away." He smiled. "So who you hiding from? Ex-boyfriend, cops, loan shark?"

"Ummm … some friends." _Why was I__ sharing this with a complete stranger?_

"It's okay, sweetie. Your secret's safe with me."

I sighed as I headed off towards the line.

"Forgetting something?" the old man asked.

I turned around to take the drink from him and smiled. "Thank you!" Before taking my place in line, I chugged the soda down and threw away the bottle.

When we got on board the plane, I sat in my seat and almost instantly fell asleep. It seemed like no time at all before the flight attendant was gently shaking my arm, trying to wake me. I walked out into the terminal, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I glanced around, not seeing him anywhere. _Who the __hell was I kidding? The man was smoke__._

I took a few steps, and jumped as he walked up beside me. "It's nice to see you, Sister Mary Katherine," he said, flashing his two hundred-watt smile.

A flight attendant walked in front of us, catching Ranger's smile, and tripped over a set of luggage in the floor. "You're a priest, for Christ's sake." I looked at the lady in a heap and sighed.

The people around us gasped, and Ranger quirked his eyebrow at me. "You'll have to forgive the Sister. Her father was a sailor."

I leaned up to whisper in his ear. "Forgive me? I'm pretty sure you are the one that should be asking for forgiveness." I smiled up at him. "You're so dead!"

He grinned at me.

"You think this is fucking hilarious? I'll show you hilarious." I smacked him, and realized that I'd only accomplished hurting my hand.

A woman with a young boy walked by, muttering, "What's this world coming to?" She covered the boy's ears and pushed him past me.

"Babe, let's get out of here," Ranger whispered in my ear as he surveyed the crowd gathering around us. "We're getting too much attention."

I turned around and glared, with my hands on my hips. "Who says I'm going anywhere with you?"

"Mary Katherine!"

"Don't you 'Mary Katherine' me!"

Ranger's eyebrow quirked at me, silently challenging me. I could almost hear him say, _You__ want to do this here, Babe?_

Frustration was starting to build up as I turned on my heel and stalked towards the exit. I was within a few feet of the door when I tripped over my robe.

Mocha latte arms caught me, and I muttered, "Great … just great. Stupid fucking robe."

He chuckled, pulled me close, and crashed his lips to mine. I moaned and melted into his embrace. _Wait a minute. I'm mad at him! _I shook myself out of it, shoving him away. I slapped him one more time for good measure, and stalked out of the airport.

TBC …

A/N: So can you guess why I picked Katherine for her alias? Next chapter, I think we'll check in with Tank. What do you think?

P.S. – I've never flown and have only been inside an airport a few times, so the whole airport thing is a guess.


	5. Chapter 5

Sacrifies

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: Thank you to everyone reading this story. There will be more coming soon from your favorite nun and priest. This is the bonus award for 100 responses to the B_S challenge. You ladies are awesome, that has to be some kind of a record.

Special Thanks go to Jenrar, for beta'ing this chapter and for all the laughs. Love ya, Babe.

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Tank's POV

_Would today ever end? _I asked myself as my cell phone rang. I looked down to check the display. "Damn it!" I muttered, as I saw Bombshell's name. I forgot to check on her before I left to come down here. I answered, "Yo!" She made a small noise, and my training kicked in. Something was wrong. "You okay, Bombshell?"

She hesitated before asking me, "Can you come up here?" Her voice was timid. She was definitely hiding something from me.

I looked around at the chaos surrounding me. "I can, but it will be forty-five minutes to an hour. We had a problem down on Stark."

Problem didn't quite cover the current situation. I looked up to see Cal dangling a dealer over the railing, four flights up. _I've told them no dropping people more than three flights. The paper __work is__ horrendous. _"Cal, what part of three flights did you forget?" I growled.

_Steph just heard __that. SHIT! _"Look, Bombshell, I've got to go," I said, snapping my phone closed and cleaning up the mess from the redecorating job from hell.

**One hour and fifteen minutes later …**

I pulled into an empty spot and sighed. Damn, it'd been a long day. I stepped out of the SUV and made my way to the elevator, lost in thought.

_We got to the last known location for the __Turbo, and__ found all of Ranger's trackers and his __sat__ phone. I called control __again. "Is__ his GPS back online?" They responded with a negative. SHIT! What the hell was going on? I looked over at Bobby and __Lester. "I__ don't know what the fuck is going __on, but__ I don't like it. We go into __lockdown__mode until__ we know what we're dealing with __here."_

_We jumped into the SUV and rushed towards Steph's apartment. When dealing with the unknown, irrational thoughts and fears flood your mind. I ran up to her apartment and started pounding on the door. _

_She shocked the shit out of me when she agreed to come to RangeMan. I thought for sure that stunning her would be the only way to get her out of her apartment. I took her up to seven and tried to get her to promise __me she'd__ tell me if Ranger called her. Her love and loyalty to my __friend outweighed__ anything the I had to __offer, though, so she made the only promise she could._

I'd left shortly after that, having gotten the call from Cal almost immediately, and was returning a bit later than I'd told her. I knocked on the penthouse door and tried to keep from yawning. _No answer … hmm … maybe she fell asleep. _I used my key fob to let myself into the apartment, then walked into the living room. The TV was on, but muted. I walked over to the couch, expecting to find her asleep.

Empty.

"Steph?" I called out. _No answer._

I walked into the bedroom. _No Steph. She wasn't here. _I refused to panic. There had to be a logical explanation. I called down to the monitors. "Where's Steph?"

"She's on seven," Junior answered.

"No, she's not. I'm on seven, and she's not here. You're watching the monitors. Where is she?"

I could hear him pulling up footage of the door on the seventh floor and running through it. "Sir, I've scanned the footage twice. She goes in with you, and the door hasn't opened until you went back in a few moments ago."

"Get Lester and Bobby up here, now!" I snapped my phone closed and starting searching the apartment.

A few minutes later, the guys joined me. "Steph's missing."

"Shit!" Lester mumbled.

"How the hell did she get out?" Bobby questioned.

"No idea, but let's look around." I left the guys in the living room searching, while I walked to the safe. I entered the combination, and the door opened. Nothing seemed to be out of order. I shut the safe and walked back out into the living room.

"Find anything?" Lester asked.

"Hell no."

Bobby pulled out his cell and dialed. Steph's phone started ringing in the bedroom.

We found her purse lying beside the bag she'd packed earlier.

Lester walked back into the bedroom, holding the clothes Steph had on earlier. We went back down to five to look at the tapes ourselves.

Junior, Hector, and Hal were scanning footage from the building.

Lester walked over and said, "Please, tell me you've got something."

They shook their heads no, and I snapped. "Someone better start explaining to me how the hell you can lose one girl from the 'Burg in a secure building."

I decided to go and check the underground escape route. I checked the passage, and saw no evidence of use. _If he's got a way out that I know about, I wonder if he's got another that I don't. _Since this passage went down, I figured that he would have another one that goes up.

Riding the elevator to the top floor, I tried to contemplate why my best friend, the man I trusted with my life, had cut me out of the circle of trust. It didn't make sense. I stepped outside and looked around; the window washing unit caught my eye.

_Surely he __wouldn't..._I walked over, picked up the control, and dusted if for prints. I went back inside and ran it through our database. Within a few minutes, I got a hit, and the prints came back to one Stephanie Plum.

I told the guys to watch for activity from her known aliases, but I knew we wouldn't find either of them before Ranger was ready. I just prayed the man knew what he was doing.

**The next day …**

My intercom chirped. I hit the button and ordered, "Talk."

"Tank, man, there's a package addressed to you . Signature required."

"I'm on my way."

I got downstairs and overheard the delivery guy laugh. "I figured that it was some sort of mistake. I mean, who would mail a package to a business that's right by the drop box?"

I didn't bother replying; just signed and took the box straight to my office. I opened the package, and inside was a single sheet of paper with code written on it. I quickly deciphered the code.

_**'Steph's with me. Don't look too hard for us, just enough to keep up appearances. We'll be okay.'**_

_**Ranger **_

I went to my apartment, and finally, for the first time in days, slept, knowing that Steph was safe.

TBC …

A/N: So know that we know what Tank thought. How about we go back Sister Mary Katherine and Priest Carlos? Let me know what you think. Please?


	6. Chapter 6

Sacrifices

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I haven't had a chance to respond yet but rest assured I will reply to them. Now onto the reason that I picked Katherine as the name, I was stuck trying to come up with a name. I asked, Jenny, my beta and she suggested Katherine. The reason behind the name choice is the day I was trying to come up with the name, the first pictures of Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum were shown on the internet. Thanks for guessing, and now I kind of feel bad that there wasn't some better motivation behind it.

Thanks to Jenny, my beta, for everything she does. Thanks also go to Jennifer, for her awesome emails and reviews, which so often inspire my muse to take off in new and exciting ways.

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Steph's POV

I walked out of the doors and realized I had no idea where I was or which direction to go. Ranger walked up behind me. "The car's this way." He pointed in the opposite direction.

"Yeah, well, maybe…" He had me so flustered, I couldn't even formulate a good retort.

"Yeah, well maybe... What?" he chuckled.

"Maybe I'll just go catch a cab." I crossed my arms and glared at this gorgeous … frustrating … sexy … evasive … hot … annoying … yummy … maddening priest. I mean, damn... My mind flashed to the things that naughty Sister Mary Katherine could enjoy doing to Priest Carlos.

"Babe, come with me. We can discuss all the things that Sister Mary Katherine can do to me, but I think we need to find a naughty nun outfit first." He flashed me his wolf grin before turning and walking towards an SUV.

_Shit! I said that outloud. _My face flushed in embarrassment. "Lord, help me," I muttered as I quickly walked over and jumped into the passenger seat.

"Steph, I don't think the Lord will help you much. You're a cursing nun," he smirked. "_And_ you kissed a priest."

"Hey, you kissed me, mister." I reached over and lightly punched his arm. "What was that all about? Priests aren't supposed to kiss nuns. And even though it's early, I'm pretty sure you blew our cover."

"Our cover was already blown, Miss Potty Mouth. I heard more curse words come out of your mouth that few minutes in the airport than I heard a day in basic training. Pretty sure that gave us away."

"My potty mouth wouldn't have been a problem had you not dressed me up like a nun. A _nun_, for Christ's sake! What the hell were you thinking?"

He reached over and gently pulled the fabric off my head, releasing my curls. "I had to come up with a way to hide your curls and body from the cameras in the airport. Tank will be checking airport footage trying to find you until he gets the message you mailed him. I couldn't risk that he would find you before that."

He started the car and pulled out of short term parking. I sat watching the road, trying to figure out where we were headed.

"Where are we going?"

"Atlanta."

"Why are we in Macon, then?" Maybe the man of mystery would start to explain himself.

"Closest airport to Atlanta."

"If we are going to Atlanta, why not just have me land there?"

"Airport's too big."

"Ranger!" I yelled in frustration.

"What?"

"Arrgh! You and your two to three word answers. You're driving me crazy."

"Technically, the second answer was six words." He grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Just trust me, please?" he sighed.

"This isn't about trust. This is about you promising to tell me what's going on. Now you're not!"

"Babe, why can't you just trust me?"

"No, don't you _Babe_ me, and again, this has nothing to do with trust. I proved that I trust you implicitly. How many other people would blindly just follow your instructions, leave a secure building, dress in a disguise, and get on a flight without knowing why?"

He just looked at me.

"Tell me, Ranger, How many? The real question, Ranger, is why don't you trust me?"

He pulled over on the side of the road and turned to look at me. Staring me straight in the eye, he said, "There's no one I trust more than you."

"Then explain to me why you aren't telling me anything!"

"Can I ask you to trust me for just a little while longer?"

I nodded my head in acceptance.

"Since we're stopped, you can get out of your disguise if you want." He got out of the SUV and walked around to the back. I got out and walked to meet him. He was stripping out of his Priest's clothes and pulling on one of his RangeMan shirts.

I licked my lips.

"See something you like, Babe?"

Oh yeah, I saw something I liked. Something I wanted to do wicked things to. _Snap out of it, Steph! Now is not the time. _I reached down and pulled the robes off over my head.

We got back into the car and drove towards Atlanta. We pulled up in front of an apartment building, and Ranger cut the engine and lights.

"Ranger?" I questioned.

"Babe, you want to know what's going on?"

I nodded my head.

A beautiful Middle Eastern woman walked out of a building. She was surrounded by a group of men as they rushed to a car across the lot from us.

"Stephanie Plum, meet Adara Majidah."

TBC …

A/N: So? What do you think? What's going on? More coming soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Sacrifices

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Not Mine

A/N: So the challenge is over, and I've got a question. Do you guys prefer shorter chapters with more frequent posts or longer chapters with more of a gap in-between chapters? This chapter contains parts of my original chapter from the RR on Babecakesrus.

Thanks goes to Jenrar (aka. Jenny), for her awesome Beta skills. She helped me work some kinks out with this chapter. And also thanks go to Jennifer who gave me an idea I worked into this chapter.

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Steph's POV

I watched the car speed off with the mystery woman, Adara, inside, then turned to look at Ranger. "Who the hell is she?" Jealousy was rearing its ugly head, and he hadn't even explained who this woman was.

"She's the reason I need your help." He reached behind my seat and handed me a file. "Wait until we get to the hotel, and we'll go over it together."

"Okay." I looked down at the name on the file, and read Khalid Mehtar. _Who the hell is that? What the fuck is going on? _I sighed in frustration.

He pulled the SUV back out into traffic, and drove us a few blocks over, pulling into an older, rundown hotel.

"Please tell me we are _not_ staying here?" I screeched.

"Babe." Ranger said in his _It's not that bad_ voice.

"It is too that bad!" _Hmmm … seems __I was learning__ Batman ESP._ "I just saw a rat run across the parking lot."

"It wasn't from the building. It came from the alley," he stated matter of factly, reaching for the door handle. "Steph, you have to trust me; we wouldn't be here if it wasn't necessary. We needed a place to stay, where no one will pay attention or remember us."

I reluctantly got out of the car and followed him to our room. I went inside, and was pleasantly surprised about the condition of the room. It far exceeded my expectations based on the exterior of the building. There was a large bed, a small kitchen with table, and a bathroom that looked very similar to my apartment.

"We're sharing a bed?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Is that a problem?" He cocked his eyebrow in question.

_Just for my hormones._

He threw his head back with a bark of laughter. "Giving information to the enemy, Babe."

I squeaked as he walked over and kissed me senseless. He pulled away a few minutes later, pulling the file out of my hand, and went to sit at the small table. He motioned me over; I took a seat beside him and opened the file.

The further I read in the file, the more I realized that Khalid Mehtar was bad news. He was wanted for the bombing of the USS Cole, which had killed seventeen U.S. soldiers. It seemed that he was high up on the Al Qaeda food chain, as well.

I finished looking over the file, closed it, and pushed it to the center of the table. I crossed my arms, leaned back, and looked at Ranger.

He was silent, trying to wait me out, knowing my curiosity had to be running wild, but I was determined. This time, I would wait him out. My silence would force him to talk, to explain the situation.

He sighed. "I don't even know how to explain this to you. Some of what I'm going to tell you can never leave this room, do you understand?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"When I left the Army, I was offered a private contract. What that means is, on paper, to the outside world, it looks like I am a civilian. In reality, I am still active duty. I'm in an elite Ranger's group. We do highly classified, highly dangerous, black ops missions for the Federal government."

He stopped talking, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

_Shit! This must be bad._ I couldn't take it anymore. "So what does that have to do with me and this guy, Khalid, and this Adara woman?" I motioned towards the file I'd set in between us.

"Everything." He ran his hands through his hair and stood up, pacing. "I screwed up. I was young, Babe. I didn't fully understand what I was doing." His face looked haunted. "I'd just signed away my rights to Julie; my head wasn't in the right place. I didn't really care about anything anymore. They offered me a contract, and I signed it. I didn't even pause to look at it. I just signed." He stopped talking again.

I let out a shaky breath. "How long?"

He just looked at me with pain-filled eyes.

I stood up and wrapped my arms around him, stopping his pacing. "How long, Ranger?"

"Ten years ..."

My heart constricted at his words. "But ..."

He cut me off. "That was five years ago." He brushed his lips across mine and pulled back to look at me. "Babe, I've been offered a get out of jail free card, but I need you to help me get it."

"I don't understand... Why would they let you out of your contract five years early?"

"It's complicated, and hard to explain, but I'll do my best. I've been trying to get out of the contract for a few years now. Once Tank knocked some since into me, I realized I'd just fucked up my whole life. I negotiated some loop holes into the contract after the fact, and made it to where it was beneficial for me and my company. About two years ago, my priorities changed. Someone walked into my life and turned my whole world upside down. I started wanting things I couldn't have. RangeMan had grown so much that it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to be gone for indeterminable periods of time. After Scrog, I realized I wanted to get to know my daughter. I want my life back, Steph. I'm tired of being the government's property. I want to have my someday."

My mouth fell open in shock. "I ... how ..."

"They will mark my contract fulfilled if I help them locate Khalid. The key to his location will come from his girlfriend, Adara."

I still must have looked confused.

"That, Babe, is where you come in."

"Me? Why not use the guys? Surely they would be more capable of this sort of thing." I just couldn't understand not asking the guys for help.

"Well, for starters, you've got the best instincts of anyone I know. Besides that, though, I couldn't use the guys for this, even if I wanted to." He walked over to the bed and started removing his weapons, placing them on the nightstand.

I rolled my hand in a circle, signalling him to keep going.

Once all the weapons were removed, he moved towards the dresser, pulling open one of the drawers and tossing me one of his shirts. "Babe, when a solider signs the type contract I did, you are assigned to a handler. They negotiate your missions, decide who goes where, and normally, they will refuse suicide missions. Their job is to watch our backs in strategy meetings."

He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. "Several of my employees are under similar contracts, so the brass decided it would be easier to assign us one handler. Our handler isn't very happy that General Marshalls offered me a way out of my contract. He doesn't want me to succeed."

I could see where this was going. "So he figured out a way to try to make sure you don't?"

"Yeah, Babe, he tried to stop the General from giving me the offer. When he figured out the contract was already signed, he told me if any of the guys help me, he'll make sure the next high risk contracts that come up have my employees' names on them. I could have told the guys, and they would have helped me regardless of the consequences to them, but what kind of a man would I be if I let them?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, visibly tense, before continuing. "I never wanted to involve you in any of this, but I know with you here, we'll get the information I need. So..." he paused, watching me wearily. "Will you help me?"

Like there was even a remote possibility I'd say no. I stood up, walking towards the bathroom, with his shirt slung over my shoulder.  
"Of course I'll help you," I said as I shut the door to change.

I looked at myself in the mirror. _What the hell was I getting myself into?_

**TBC ...**

A/N: Sooo ... how did you like the twist? Did you see that coming?

Interesting tidbit: the name Khalid Metar, means immortal prince.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 8**

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.

A/N: Yes, I know it's been a while and I'm sorry. Well, you see. My muse needed a break after the July challenge. The wonderful B-S Babes earned an amazing 11 chapter's from me, in fifteen days. I normally post 1 to 2 chapters a week, so my muse decided it needed a break.

And long story short, once I wanted to get back to it, RL stated throwing me curve balls. But I'm back ladies. So, please forgive me? With sugar on top?

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**Ranger's POV**

I watched Steph shut the door, and sighed in relief. She'd agreed to help; the problem was, she still didn't know everything. She proved that she trusted me implicitly, and I let her promise to help me without telling her the full story. _Shit! What if she regretted agreeing to help me?_

I turned down the covers on the bed and double checked all the locks, while waiting for the woman I love more than life itself. She was the reason I wanted out of this damn contract—the only thing that keeps me going, the light in the darkness that guides me home.

I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn't hear the door open.

"Ranger?" Steph hesitantly asked.

She'd startled me, and I prayed she hadn't seen it—when she started giggling, I knew it was a pointless battle. After all these years, she'd finally gotten the drop on me.

"Go ahead, Babe. I know you're dying to say it."

In between giggles, she celebrated her victory. "Need … to … be … more aware … of your … surroundings, Batman."

"Laugh it up, Babe. It's the one and only time it will happen." I tried not to laugh, but the longer she giggled, the harder it became, and I started chuckling myself.

When she finally got herself under control, she walked over to the bed and climbed under the covers. "Go ahead; you may as well tell me the rest of it."

If I was completely honest with myself, I was kind of hoping she would come out and go to sleep, and I could put off this conversation for a couple of hours. But as with everything that involved her, nothing ever goes according to plan.

I walked over to the bed and lay down beside her. She sighed and turned on her side to look at me. I pushed a curl off her face and leaned down to gentle brush my lips against hers.

She pulled back and placed her finger over my lips. "Kisses are not going to put off this conversation, mister. Now spill it."

I sighed. A trip to Steph's denial land sounded pretty good to me. "Distractions aren't going to work, huh?"

"No, sorry. Not this time—even though it would be easy to stick my head in the sand and not deal with this head on. I think it's time for us to face your demons … together." She gave me a small smile.

"I don't have a lot for us to go on. That's one of the main reasons I brought you down here. I'm hoping you'll see something I'm missing."

"What do you have on her so far? What's her deal?" Steph asked.

"She's runs a lingerie design firm. Very little is known about her. She's from Saudi Arabia; her father runs a textile mill and is close friends with the Royal Family. She came here on a student Visa to attend UCLA. Twelve years ago, she received a Master of Art degree in fashion and textiles. Shortly after graduating, she became a US citizen, before moving to Atlanta to start up her business."

"Why would she pick Atlanta?" Steph asked with a quizzical look.

"I assume because of the growth the area's seen over the past few decades. That's just a guess, though."

I could see smoke coming out of her ears—something had tweaked her interest.

"I mean, don't get me wrong. I can see a few benefits to starting her company here. Do we know if she started up her company straight out of school, or did she intern anywhere?" She stood up and went to grab the file on Khalid.

"Steph, where are you going with this? Her company checked out." She was flipping through his file, obviously looking for something.

"You brought me down here because you trust my instincts. Let me work this out." A small frown formed on her beautiful face.

_Damn it, Manoso! She's been here less __than four hours, and__ you've already got her doubting herself. _Sometimes I really had shit for brains. "Babe, I'm just trying to follow your train of thought. I didn't mean to make you think I doubted you."

"I'm trying to figure out what drew her here. Most of the lingerie design companies are located in California, New York, and New Jersey. She was already in California—why not just stay there? What drew her here?"

I still had no clue where she was going with this, so I shrugged my shoulders and kept my mouth shut.

"How did they meet?" She closed the folder and looked at me.

"No one's been able to establish when and how they met exactly. Most reports state they met in Saudi Arabia, but the information has never been completely confirmed."

"There's a gap in his file. Where was Khalid when Adara was a student?"

"No one knows for sure." She gave me a look of incredulousness. "Steph, you've got to remember. This was way before 9-11; the government never dreamed someone would do something like that. The information on him wasn't even complied until he became a lead suspect of the USS Cole bombing. They assume he was in the Middle East during that time, but it's just more speculation."

"I can't put my finger on it yet, but something just doesn't add up here. Maybe it will come to me later. So what's our first move?"

"Tomorrow we are just going to do some surveillance. Tomorrow night, we're going to break in to snoop around."

"That seems pretty straight up. Why do you seem so nervous about it."

_Great, just great. Now what? Do I tell her the truth or lie?_ Considering the fact that my blank mask seemed to be broken tonight, I decided to tell her the truth.

"Babe, we have to be really careful. We can't get caught. In fact, it would probably be better for me to go in by myself—but I need your eyes and ears inside.

"If we get caught, it won't be any big deal for me. I can get out of it. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for you. You could go to jail for anywhere from one to twenty years, without the possibility of a suspended sentence or probation."

She was trying to not let me see any fear. It took her a minute to grasp the situation, before she stiffened her chin and said, "It's okay, I'll do it."

"Steph, I'll understand if you don't want to go in with me."

"I already said I'd do it. Can we change the subject now?"

I nodded my head. "What do you want to talk about?"

"What was in the package you mailed to Tank?"

"A note, telling him you were with me—basically saying to still look for us, but not to try too hard."

"He was pretty pissed at you. He might not listen. I understand why you hid this from them, but he's bound to be feeling hurt that you didn't feel the need to tell him about all of this."

"I did it to protect him." I sighed. She wasn't telling me anything I hadn't already been telling myself. I knew he would be pissed off.

"I know you did; I was only trying to warn you ahead of time."

She yawned, and I stood up from the bed. "Babe, let's get some sleep. We can finish this discussion tomorrow."

I picked up the file she'd placed on the bed, set it on the table, and walked into the bathroom. Once ready to crawl into bed, I slipped back into the room and was unsurprised to find Steph already sound asleep.

I crawled under the covers and pulled her into my embrace, enjoying the feel of her in my arms. I kissed her curls, before leaning down and whispering in her ear. "I love you, Stephanie."

The corners of her lips twitched up. "You, too, Batman," was her mumbled reply.

TBC …

A/N: So what do you think?

Sneak peeks will go to reviewers.

Opps, I forgot to thank so people. So to my super dupper Beta, Jenrar. Babe! You so totally rock, it isn't even funny. To Jennifer, you are so sweet and I just love our conversations and all your theories. To Angie, Love ya, Babe.


	9. Chapter 9

Sacrifices

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.

A/N: I'm anxiously awaiting news for a part-time teacher assistant position at my kid's school. The principal told me she'd call me for short interview next week. Don't know what that means exactly, but I'm hopeful. So please wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed.

Special thanks go to Jenrar, the best beta/friend/designer a girl can wish for.

Please go check out my profile page and you will find a link to my story page. It has pictures that coincide with this story.

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Steph's POV

I woke up the next morning, slowly sat up, and looked around the empty room.

_Great, Ranger... Just__ leave me all alone. Now what the hell am I supposed to do?_

I flipped the covers off myself, knocking a piece of paper to the floor. I picked it up, glanced at it quickly, and recognized Ranger's unique script.

Babe,

Went to get breakfast, be back shortly.

Shortly. What exactly did he mean by shortly? How long ago did he leave? Hell, he could be lying unconscious somewhere, and I'd never know it. This setup isn't working for me. He called me down here to help him out. That means we do things together. I don't care if he seriously went out just to get breakfast. What if someone figured out what we're doing down here?

Time was slowly ticking by; I swore snails could move faster than the minute hand of the clock in our room. I went to take a shower, trying to distract myself from worry. When I stepped out of the shower, I realized that might not have been my best move. As far as I knew, I had no clean clothes. I wrapped the towel tightly around my body and tucked the end in between my breasts. There was still no Ranger when I walked back into the room.

_Damn__ it, where the hell is he?_

I quickly looked through the dresser drawers and found no clothes for me.

_Shit, he could have at least told me to grab my clothes out of his closet on __seven before I left RangeMan!_

"Stupid man, what the hell am I supposed to do for clothes?"

"If I had my way, you'd never need clothes."

I screamed and spun around, clutching the towel to my now heaving chest. I could have sworn my heart was about to jump outside my rib cage.

Ranger was smiling at me and holding out a bag of food. "Here, Babe, I picked up breakfast and some clothes for you. I'll be right back."

"Yeah, that's what your note said, too, and I found it over an hour ago!" I yelled at his retreating form.

If I didn't know better, I'd think I'd heard him muttering under his breath.

_Probably questioning__ his sanity. Way to go, Plum. __You've driven him__ mad in twenty-four hours. _

He walked back in the room, carrying bags of stuff. I crossed my arms and huffed.

"Babe, what's the problem?" he asked as he sat all the bags on the bed.

"You left me."

"I left a note," he said, frowning. "Besides, I figured you needed to catch up on sleep. It's not like you had much of a chance before you had to leave RangeMan."

"I understand that, and I appreciate it—I really do—but I need to not wake up alone. I was really freaked out … and worried … and scared. The only thing I knew was that you had gone out for breakfast. I had no idea what time it was when you left, how long you'd been gone, or if you were okay." I was working myself into a full blown panic attack—over breakfast, for crying out loud! What was wrong with me?

He walked over and wrapped me in his arms. "Steph, it's okay. I won't leave without telling you. All right?"

I nodded my head and tried to get a grip on my emotions. I had a really awful feeling that something bad was going to happen. That was the only explanation I had for my mini-meltdown. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck, breathing in his masculine scent, allowing it to calm me.

After a few minutes, Ranger reached down and gently pulled my face up to look in my eyes. "Want to talk about it?"

"No!" There was no way I wanted to tell him what had me spooked.

"Babe!" This one meant, _but we will talk about it later._

"Sure, sure, later," I said, knowing that when later came around, changing the topic would be necessary.

I grabbed the bags from the bed and started going through them. Finding jeans, cargos, black shirts, and several sets of practical bras and panties. I looked at him and tried to quirk my eyebrow.

"We're going to be sitting around in an SUV; I thought you'd rather be comfortable." He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm going to go buy a paper out front. Get dressed, and we'll eat." He walked out the door.

I pulled on one of the lingerie sets, jeans, and a black shirt, before I started to unpack the rest of the clothes. When the bottom of the bag of the bag came into view, I noticed a very sexy, black Victoria's Secret bra and matching thong.

_Interesting ... maybe__ he doesn't want _everything _to be practical._

I placed the last few items in the dresser, before turning to walk over to the small table and looking down at the bag of food, just as Ranger walked back into the room. My eyes flicked from the bag to him. "Subway! But … but where's my doughnuts?"

Ranger looked up at me over the top of his paper. "Babe."

I sighed and sat down, reaching in the bag and pulling out a ham, egg, and cheese English muffin. It was actually really good, but no way in hell would I tell him that.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, before he spoke. "We're going to head over to Naughty and Nice Designs after we eat."

I started to ask what the hell he was talking about, but realized Naughty and Nice Designs was the name of Adara's design firm. She also had a warehouse attached to the back of the firm, where her Naughty and Nice line was manufactured.

It seemed like no time at all, before we were pulling up half a block away from the design firm's entrance. Ranger turned off the SUV, leaned back a little in his seat, and turned to look at me. "Steph, I need you to be honest with me. What's got you so spooked?"

I turned away and looked out the window. "I don't know, really. It's just that … something seems off about this whole thing. We're missing something. I freaked out when I woke up this morning, because you haven't told me anything about what to do if something happens. Do I call Tank? Should I just wait for you? Am I completely on my own? Does your handler know about me? These are things we need to discuss."

I paused before turning to look at him. "I get into a lot of trouble on my own, without anyone's help. I'd like to know exactly what we're up against."

TBC ...

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A/N: Well, what do you think? So what do you think he's going to tell her? Sneak peeks go to reviewers.

P.S. Jenrar designed the label for Adara's line, and helped me make the Sacrifices label on the story site. Thanks so much, Babe!


	10. Chapter 10

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 10**

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read and review. It's appreciated more than you know. Between cheerleading, sick kids, and job hunting, I don't have nearly as much time to write as I'd like.

If you are interested, the share site will have new pics tomorrow. And sorry about the double post, something happened when I loaded the chapter and I couldn't fix it.

Angie: If you're alone, I'll be your shadow. If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder. If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow. If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile. But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me.

To the best beta in the world, Jenrar. Thank you sooooo much …. And to Jennifer, there just aren't words, so I'll just say thanks for everything.

**Ranger's POV**

I looked Steph in the eye and knew what she said was true. She deserved to know what we were up against. Part of the problem was, I wasn't exactly sure what we were up against—not totally, anyway. I sighed.

"You sure are doing that a lot. I thought that was my gig." The corner of her lips twitched up a little bit.

"It's because I feel like an ass for involving you in this, because this mission is the first time I'm not one hundred percent sure I can keep you safe. There are too many unknown variables right now for me, and it's making me uneasy. The fact that your spidey sense seems to be off the charts isn't doing much to help ease my mind. I've told you before, Babe, I'm not emotionally distanced from you. I have to keep you safe, but I need your help. This feels like a catch twenty-two."

"You love me, right?"

_Shit, so much for the hope she was talking in her sleep last night. Time to man up, Soldier._

"More than my own life." I stared into her eyes as I said the words.

You could see the happiness spread across her face as my words registered. "And I love you more than mine. So we do this as partners, watch each other's backs, and solve this mystery together."

"Together."

I pulled her to me and pressed my lips to hers. I traced her bottom lip with my tongue, seeking entrance. Her lips parted, and our tongues dueled for dominance as our hands roamed each other's bodies. My hand moved to the button of her cargos, and she pulled back.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

"Adara's on the move," Steph said as she pointed to the building.

Adara exited the building, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, without guards. She was on foot and walking down towards a crowded market. Steph jumped out of the SUV and started following Adara.

I got out and crossed the street to give me a better vantage point of the market. I kept Steph in sight at all times, and scanned the area around us for anything out of the ordinary.

Adara sat down a small table at an outdoor café. The waiter brought her an ice tea and a sandwich. She must have been a regular there. Adara pulled out her phone and made a quick phone call.

I observed Steph slowly make her way to the café. She stopped at a few window displays and a couple of outdoor stands, before making her way to sit at an empty table near Adara.

_BABE! What are you doing?_

Adara's phone rang, and she checked the display before quickly answering. A smile crossed her face as she gave a short answer. By the blush on her face, I'd guess she was talking to Khalid.

_Interesting!_

Steph's eyes flashed over to Adara, and I knew the call might hold some clues for us. The waiter walked over to Steph, and she ordered something off the menu. A few minutes later, he brought her back a soda and a slice of pie. The waiter started flirting with Steph, and it was all I could do to remain in place and not go pound this guy's head in. Steph smiled back and said something that caught Adara's attention.

**Steph's POV**

The young waiter kept trying to flirt with me, which was unfortunate, since I was trying to go unnoticed.

"Did it hurt?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did it hurt when you when you fell from Heaven?"

I looked him in the eyes as I replied, "You must be single, and if that's the best line you've got, I can certainly see why."

Adara's eyes flicked up to mine, and she laughed.

_Oh__ shit! Ranger's going to kill me._

"I have to admit, it really was a bad line. Do strange men come on to you often?" She pushed her glasses up on top of her head and gave me a small smile.

I could see Ranger across the street, a look of exasperation on his face.

"No, not really. Though back home, I had two alpha males that pretty much scared off all the rest of the competition."

"Where are you from? You definitely don't have a southern drawl."

"Newark." Close enough to the truth, so she couldn't tell I was lying.

"What brings you to Atlanta? Business or pleasure?"

Oh crap, why do I always befriend people? I really was just trying to figure out what she was doing, not trying to start a conversation with her. "I guess you could say both."

"What kind of work do you do? If you don't mind me asking?"

"I worked for a lingerie distributor, butthey went out of business. I'm currently doing office work for my cousin."

"Oh, what a strange coincidence! I own Naughty & Nice Designs."

"I've seen your line," I admitted honestly. "Very exotic, great cuts, and the fabrics are to die for."

"Are you still in the design field?" she asked.

"No, sadly. I wish I was." _Where did that comment come from? Did I mean that?_

"I never caught your name," she said, extending her hand.

"Diana."

"Well, Diana. If your job with your cousin doesn't work out, you should come see us. We're hiring, and I just have a feeling you'd feel right at home at Naughty & Nice." She stood up, dropped a twenty on the table, and with a wave goodbye, headed back up the street.

My eyes flicked to Ranger. He pointed over his shoulder, telling me without words to head back to the truck.

I motioned for the check and stood up as the flirty waiter brought over the bill. I glanced down at the total and noticed that he'd written down his phone number.

_Geez__, really? Can't this guy take a hint?_

I threw a ten down on the table and yelled out over my shoulder, "Keep the change."

I slowly started to make my way back up to the SUV. Ranger was ahead of me, keeping an eye on Adara in the distance. As I got closer the Naughty & Nice building, I watched as Adara walked inside. When I finally stepped up besidethe SUV, I climbed inside and looked over at a very exasperated and angry Ranger.

"It's not my fault," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I could follow her and see what she was doing. I never intended for her to start a conversation with me."

"This morning, you were angry at me for leaving you. Steph, the same rules have to apply to you. You can't take off half-cocked. You had no idea what you were walking into."

"I wouldn't have followed her into a building or anything. You have to admit the set up couldn't have been more perfect if we'd planned it."

"If we'd planned it, you wouldn't have run off without your wire and panic button."

"If you would tell me everything up front, this wouldn't be an issue."

He sighed. I was really starting to think I'd broken him.

"Babe…" He started to say something, but for some reason, he just shook his head. He reached behind his seat and brought out a silver case. He flipped the lid open and handed me a panic button. "From now on, this—" He reached over and turned the button on. "—needs to be on you at all times, and you're right. I should have told you everything up front. We have to work together. Just promise me no more running off without being wired and armed. You could have been in trouble, and I wouldn't have known, because you ran off without your wire." He pulled out a tiny wire and handed it over.

"I promise," I said as I slipped my panic button in my pocket and placed the wire on my bra.

**Ranger's POV **

"So other than befriending Adara, did you learn anything useful?" I asked.

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think she was talking to Khalid. Either that, or she has a man on the side. She smiled and said I love you before hanging up."

"We need to hack her records."

Steph reached behind the seat, pulled out my laptop, turned it on, and started the search for Adara's cell records. I knew having Silvio train her would pay off.

After a few minutes, Steph sighed. "Of course they used an untraceable cell."

"It was worth a shot. We never expected it to be that easy, but sometimes, people make mistakes."

The rest of the surveillance was pretty uneventful. We waited until three AM before entering the building, and then made our way to Adara's office and started searching through her files. Steph started looking through the drafting table. I finished my search and walked over to her. She had just picked up a pencil and begun erasing a line off the design sitting on the table.

"Steph!" I whispered, reaching out to grab the pencil out of her hand. "What are you doing?"

"That line's all wrong," she said as she grabbed another pencil out off the table. "It needs a line that plunges, not one that sweeps."

I looked over at Steph and watched in horror as she changed the design. "Babe, don't you think she'll notice?"

"No, she had it this way a few times. If you look closely, you'll see where she's erased the line and redrawn it several times. She's second guessing herself, probably concerned the cut is too daring. I promise, if she knew, she'd thank me. Adara will come in tomorrow and think she changed it back on her own."

Steph finished her search of the drafting table and found a shipment manifest. She stuffed it in her pocket, and we proceeded to make our out the side door. As we reached the door, all the lights were flipped on. I gripped Steph's hand and shoved her out the door, just as bullets flew past my head.

_TBC …_

A/N: Sooo … what did you think? Will Steph go to work for Adara? Sneak peeks will go to reviewers.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 11**

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.

A/N: First thanks for sticking with the story, I know my updates have been very sporadic, for that I'm sorry. But, my son is going through a lot right now, and unfortunately there isn't a real quick fix to the issue. So he's of course coming first right now. "Let's just say, that whoever penned the phrase that "sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me", should be shot.

Some good news is that cheerleading practice is over and the football season's in the playoff section. I keep asking if cheering for the other team to win, makes me a bad mommy. LOL.

Anyways, thanks again for the support ladies, you all are the best. To Jenrar, Babe you rock, thanks for everything. To Angie and Jennifer, *big hugs*

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**Steph's POV**

We had just reached the door, when the lights went on and shots were fired. Ranger shoved me out the door, and we took off running towards the SUV. He peeled out of the parking lot and drove. He kept checking the rearview mirror, looking for a tail.

"That was … " I had a hard time finding the right word. "Strange."

Ranger glanced over at me, quirking his eyebrow. "Strange isn't the word I would have used to describe that situation!"

"It wasn't one of Adara's guards and the guy definitely wasn't a cop, so who was shooting at us? And … more importantly why?"

"Babe, did you see what he looked like?"

"I only got a glimpse as you were shoving me out the door. He was Caucasian, about Ram's size."

"I don't know if I should be upset that this guy was shooting at us, and instead of running, you turned to see what he looked like, or that you are familiar enough with Ram's physique to use it as a basis of comparison."

"Well, Tank's around 6'5'', 320 pounds. Lester's about 5'11'', close to 180 pounds. Bobby's like 6'1'' feet and 190 pounds."

Ranger looked at me incredulously.

"What? I'm a woman. You are all sexy men. I'm going to notice these things." I blushed a little.

"What are Hal's stats?" Ranger asked dryly.

"A smidge under 6'4'', 220," I rattled off.

He pulled the car over in an empty lot and glared at me. "You are paying entirely too much attention to my men."

"It's not my fault that you have a gorgeous clause in your application process."

He shook his head and said, "Babe!" in exasperation.

I shrugged my shoulders. _It was the __truth, and__ we both knew it._

He pulled the SUV back out into traffic, and we headed back to town, stopping near the hotel at all night cafe.

After a quick meal, we headed back to the hotel to go over what we'd found at Naughty and Nice. We walked into our room, and Ranger immediately pulled his gun and shielded me behind his body.

"What the hell are you doing here, Zek?" Ranger growled.

_Zek? Who the hell is he?_ I wondered as I tried to assess the situation.

"Just seeing how things were going," Zek icily replied.

I peeked over Ranger's shoulder and shivered as I recognized the man staring back at me. It was the guy who'd shot at us.

Ranger must have felt my shiver, giving him all the information he needed. "So if you're just checking in, why shoot at us?"

"Checking out how your latest piece of ass acts under pressure," he sneered.

I was trying hard not to let his remark upset me, but I couldn't help but start to wonder if what he was saying was true.

"Considering how busy you've kept me the last five years, it's kind of obvious that she's the only woman in my life and has been for a long time."

Ranger's words calmed me completely, and I took a tentative step out from behind Ranger. This man was obviously Ranger's handler, and just from the few words he'd said, I disliked him already.

"How about you put that," Zek pointed to the gun aimed between his eyes, "thing away. Jesus, son, you act like you don't trust me or something." He grinned at Ranger.

Ranger slowly lowered his weapon, but didn't put it away. "You told me when the General offered me this mission, I was on my own. Why are you here—checking up on me—now?"

"I changed my mind. I decided that you were right, and after all you've done for your country, you deserve to be released of your contract early, if you so choose."

"Bullshit! Now what's the real answer?" Ranger growled.

"Son, you've got to start to trust people at some point. I came to help you." Zek looked heartbroken by Ranger's lack of trust. "Honestly, I didn't think you could get the information without help. I didn't know you'd brought in some help of your own."

"Based on our last conversation and your threats to my men, your sudden change of mind is a little hard to believe." Ranger moved to the door and opened it. "Now, if you don't mind, it's been a long night, and we'd like to get some sleep."

Zek stood up and walked to the door. "You know you need me. You just need some time to admit it to yourself." With that, he was gone.

"Ran … " I started to speak, but Ranger placed his finger over my lips to silence me. He pulled a suitcase out of the closet, grabbed a radio frequency scanner, and swept the room, finding three bugs and destroying them.

He pulled two empty suitcases from the closet and started packing up our stuff.

I tried to quirk my eyebrow at him.

"Zek's up to something, and I don't want him knowing where we are."

"But he found us this time. What's to keep him from doing it again?" I asked.

I saw the slightest flair of anger. "He won't find us again. I promise you that."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like I didn't trust you."

His eyes softened, and he pulled me to him. "I know you trust me, Babe. Let's just get our stuff together and get out of here."

I nodded my head and started to help him pack up our stuff.

As we were packing, Ranger found a tracker planted in the weapons case. After that discovery, we started searching for more. I found one underneath the collar of a shirt, while Ranger started going through the box of his own trackers he'd brought with him.

He picked up a tracker out of the box and placed it on the bed. "That sneaky … " he started to hiss.

"What?"

"This one's on." A look of confusion must have been evident on my face, because he went on to explain, "We didn't turn it on. He did." He picked Zek's tracker up off the bed and tossed it to me and then tossed me one of ours. "Pop quiz. What differences do you see?"

I almost felt like tossing them back and telling him to take a hike, but honestly, I was curious to see if I could do this. Turning the tiny trackers over in my fingers, I realized they looked identical on the outside, but the weight was off. Zek's tracker definitely felt a little heavier.

"Weight? His seems to weigh more." I looked up at Ranger and could see the corners of his mouth twitch upward a bit. I motioned to the bag of trackers. "Let me see."

He handed me the bag, and I looked inside. I noticed that all of the trackers in the bag were marked with a miniscule number seven. Zek's tracker was not.

"Ours have a miniature seven marked on them. His doesn't."

"Good job, Babe. All our trackers always have a single digit number on them. The number will vary from time to time, but I like to have a way to identify them as ours."

"Aren't you afraid that someone will trace it back to you?"

"No, we do it in house. There's always a chance that someone in the company would let it slip, but it's highly unlikely anyone would ever be that stupid."

I walked over to an empty drawer in the dresser, threw the tracker in it, and slid the door shut, before reaching into the last drawer and taking out the last stack of clothes to be searched for trackers and refolded. Ranger walked into the bathroom to finish up in there.

As I reached the bottom of the stack, I noticed something odd with the button on one of his pairs of cargos. "Ranger? What's this?"

He walked back into the room and gave me a strange look. "Pants, Babe."

"I know its pants, smartass. I'm talking about the button. See?" I asked as handed over the pants.

"Shit! I can't believe him." He popped the button off the cargos and showed it to me. It was a miniature tracker made into a button. "I never would have seen that, Steph."

"I'm a girl; I notice these things," I said with a shrug.

Ranger quickly walked the bags out to our SUV, coming back inside to do one final sweep of the room. Once satisfied we hadn't left anything except the planted trackers, he walked over to the window. Scanning the exterior, he moved to the door and motioned for me to him.

Pulling me close, his hands skimmed down my back, feeling the gun. "Proud of you," he whispered, before kissing me soundly.

We walked out of the room and towards our waiting SUV. Ranger pulled onto the interstate a few minutes later, and I was asleep in an instant. I barely registered Ranger pulling into a parking lot and going inside to check in. I had just dosed back off, when my door swung open.

I let out a tiny scream.

"Shhh, Babe. I've got you."

Ranger picked me up bridal style and carried me into the room, laying me on the bed.

"I'll be back in just a minute with our bags, Babe. Go back to sleep."

I closed my eyes and listened as the door closed quietly, and waited nervously until I heard him come back in less than a minute later.

"Ranger?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah, Babe, it's me."

I could hear him clicking the locks, and then the whispers of his clothes as he undressed, before climbing into bed beside me.

By the time he'd pulled me to him, tucking my face into his chest, I was nearly back to dream land.

TBC …

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A/N: Well what do you think Zek's up too? Is he really planning to help Ranger or is he up to something?

Please review, they always make me smile. And sneak peeks will go to those who do.


	12. Chapter 12

Sacrifices

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Still Not Mine!

A/N: I just want to say thanks to everyone for reading and supporting this story. I'm truly sorry for the delay in updating. I have been trying to write, and honestly didn't like anything I put down, so my muse took off for destinations unknown. LOL!

It seems to have returned, finally. Now if I can just get it to stick around.

**WARNING: THIS STORY IS NOW RATED MATURE!**

This chapter will contain smut.

Thanks to my rock star super beta, Jenrar.

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Ranger's POV

Waking up with the woman of your dreams spooned to your front is every man's fantasy. Making that fantasy a reality was the only thing I'd wanted for the past three years.

I glanced down at the women in my arms and thought back to yesterday. Steph could never be called predictable, and her running off after Adara shouldn't have surprised me, but it had. The old adage, "Always expect the unexpected," could have been penned after her.

Steph sighed contentedly and snuggled back into my chest. A light brush of her ass, and my dick sprang to attention.

_Oh, what this woman does to me. _I lightly traced small patterns with my hand down her arm, across her hip and back up. I repeated the journey several times, before she started to stir.

Her eyes were still closed as she murmured, "That feels wonderful."

I leaned down placing my lips near her ear and whispered, "Roll over, Babe."

She rolled over on her stomach, and I started to massage her back. Every trip, my hands would go down just a little bit farther.

"Mmmm … you're hired," she mumbled into the pillow below her head.

My hands went down her legs, and on my return trip, I let my hand slip along her folds, causing her to moan. I did this a few more times, her panties dampening with each pass.

She rolled over and leaned up to capture my lips in a searing kiss. Moments later, I pulled back to look in her eyes. They were heavy with desire, but I could see a little bit of fear there as well.

"Let me love you, Babe. Please?" It would kill me to stop now, but I didn't want her to regret it.

At my words, the fear was gone. Lust, desire, and need filled its place.

I pushed her shirt up, exposing her breasts. I began to place open mouthed kisses on her jaw and neck, and then nibbled my way down, spending several minutes paying homage to each breast in turn.

Steph threaded her hands through my hair and pulled me up to her lips again. Her tongue traced my lips seeking entrance, which I quickly granted, before taking over the kiss. She pulled back and begged, "Love me, Ranger. Please, just love me."

Who was I to deny her? I made quick work of her panties and my boxers, before moving in between her legs. I rubbed my throbbing cock up and down her slit, coating the tip in her juices. I pushed slowly inside, feeling her moist heat surround me, causing me to moan in pleasure. "Dios, Babe!"

I pulled out slowly, setting a leisurely pace with each thrust, taking my time and savoring these moments. She was mine now; I'd never let her go. Contract or no contract, there was no turning back.

Steph's hips were meeting mine thrust for thrust. "Ranger, please?" she begged.

I smiled as I continued my sweet, slow torture.

Within a few minutes, Steph's frustration grew, and she wasn't in the mood for sweet and gentle anymore. To prove her point, she clenched down her muscles, trapping me inside her. She reached out and grabbed my ass, pulling me farther inside her. I swear I could feel the tip of cock touching her womb.

"Ranger, enough slow and gentle." She leaned up and kissed me hard on the mouth, before leaning back. "You promised once to ruin me. Now I want you to make me yours," she said with a near growl.

Whatever control I had left snapped. I claimed her mouth and pounded into her. The sound of our bodies slapping together in passion was a thing of beauty. I could tell that Steph was close, so I reached down between our bodies, flicking my finger across her sensitive clit. Moments later, her pussy clinched around me. I roared as I spilled my seed inside her.

I collapsed on the bed beside her, while we both tried to catch our breath. I didn't like the tiny amount of space between our sweaty bodies, so I reached over and pulled her half onto my chest.

We spent long minutes just enjoying the feel of being in each other's arms. Finally, Steph broke the silence. "Not that I'm complaining, but shouldn't we be getting ready to go watch Adara?"

"I figured we deserved to sleep in."

She reached up and felt my head. "Are you feeling all right? You never sleep in," she teased.

I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes, before removing her hand. "I feel perfectly fine. In fact, why don't I prove it?" And I did, over and over again, until we were both so exhausted we could barely move.

Several hours later, Steph and I finally made it out of bed. She headed towards the bathroom, and I started to go in after her.

She held up her hand and shook her head fiercely. "Uh uh, no way. You, mister, are staying out here."

I quirked my eyebrow at her.

"Don't you eyebrow me. I'm hungry; famished, in fact. And I know just how good you are in the shower. If you come in here—" she walked into the bathroom and turned to face me, "—we are never going to get out of this room." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the bathroom door shut, and I heard the lock turn.

"Babe!" I couldn't help but chuckle. "You know that wouldn't keep me out if I really wanted in."

She didn't respond, and a few seconds later, I heard the shower kick on. I went over to my suitcase, unzipped a hidden compartment, and pulled out the dress and shoes I'd picked out while shopping the other day. I lay them out on the bed, before walking over to the bathroom door and turning the locks. I slipped quietly into the room, and moved the shower curtain just a little, to see the vision of heaven before me.

She had her eyes closed, and the water was cascading down her back. I quietly stepped in behind her, causing her to gasp as I pulled her body to mine. "Ranger!"

"Shhh … Babe, I'll be good." I washed her body in a reverent manner, taking my time and just cherishing having her in my arms. I kissed her once, before telling her, "Go on out and get dressed, Babe."

I followed after her quickly. It was early evening, and if I was going to pull off my surprise for the night, we needed to get moving. I walked out wrapped in a towel and stopped to watch the beautiful woman before me.

She was holding the dress I'd laid out for her up to her body, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Go ahead, Babe. Try it on."

She spun around, clutching the dress to her almost naked body. "But … how … when?"

"I picked it up the other day."

"But … why?" She didn't seem able to speak.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, you agreed to help me. I'll never be able to repay you for this. Spoiling you is just one way for me to show my thanks."

**Steph's POV **

I walked out of the bathroom and couldn't believe my eyes. Lying on the bed was a simple, long sleeved knit dress, with a ruffled bottom. I held it up to my body and almost jumped out of my skin when he told me to try it on.

After a few moments of me trying to form more than one word sentences, I pulled the dress over my head and smoothed it down my body. I looked in the mirror and spent a few minutes turning this way and that, enjoying the way the ruffle at the bottom of the dress swished around my legs. _Every girl's got to make sure everything's covered when you move. Right?_

Ranger walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "Beautiful," he whispered, before placing open mouthed kisses on my neck. He moved back and started getting dressed.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up a pair of boots, though the word boots didn't quite do them justice. Instead of FMPs, these were Fuck Me Boots.

"Babe!" Ranger growled. "Later, that's a promise."

I placed my foot inside the right boot and almost moaned. It felt like heaven for feet. They were made of black leather, with a half inch platform and a four inch heel. I quickly pulled on the other boot and stood up. They hit me right below the knee. I loved these boots.

Ranger interrupted my love affair with my shoes by promising, "I can make you look at me that way."

"There's no doubt in my mind," I stated as I moved towards him, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss, pulling back before things got too out of hand. I didn't want to ruin his plans for the evening. He obviously had something up his sleeves for us to be getting dressed up.

"Sooo … where are you taking me?" _What can I __say? Curiosity__ gets me every time._

Ranger gave me his "I know what you're up to smile" and said, "It's a surprise. Speaking of which, we need to get going soon. Go finish getting ready. I'm going to step outside and make a call."

I wanted to question who he was calling, but I knew he'd tell me if it was important. He might be checking in with Watch Tower, and Lord knows I haven't been given clearance to the Justice League yet.

I walked into the bathroom and made quick work of my hair. I only had mascara and lipgloss with me, so a few brushes to my lashes and a swipe of gloss finished my look.

Ranger walked back into the room. "Ready to go, Babe?"

I nodded my head, and he held open the door. We drove towards downtown. "Ranger? Is it really safe for us to be going out in downtown Atlanta? What if we run into Adara or Zek?"

He just looked at me and smiled. He was not going to answer my question. We turned down a road and pulled up to an underground parking lot for the Georgia Aquarium.

"Are we going to the Aquarium?" I asked excitedly.

Ranger nodded his head as he slid the car into the first spot by the door. "The Aquarium is closed for the night. It will just be us and a few employees. Let's go." He opened his door and ran around the SUV to open my door.

As we walked towards the employee door, an older man with graying hair opened the door and ushered us inside.

"Babe, I'd like you to meet Matthew Reynolds. He was one of my training officers when I joined the Rangers."

"Call me Matt. Nice to meet the lady who captured this lug's heart." He smacked Ranger on the back a few times in a manly hug, before reaching over and pulling my hand to his lips.

Ranger growled, "Mine, Matt! Find your own."

Matt chuckled, before stepping back. "If you two would follow me, I'm going to take you over this way to the behind the scenes area of the Ocean Voyager exhibit."

I really wanted to ask why we were going behind the scenes. I'd thought we were there to go explore the aquarium, but maybe since we'd arrived after hours, all we could do was a back stage tour.

Matt came to stop and introduced us to his son, Brian. Brian handed the two of us wet suits and explained that we were going to be swimming with whale sharks.

At the word shark, I started to panic. "Umm … guys, I'm not swimming with sharks. Even if you've fed them already today, with my luck …" I let the statement trail off. "No thanks. Ranger, you have fun. I'll just watch."

The guys chuckled at me, and Ranger grabbed my hand and walked me towards the edge of the tank. "Babe, do you know what whale sharks are called?"

I shook my head and watched as a huge fish came near the surface.

He stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "They're called the gentle giants. They are the largest fish species in the sea."

Brian and Matt walked over as well. Brian took over the conversation. "Whale sharks can grow to be over forty feet long and weigh over seventy-nine thousand pounds. They are very slow, moving only at a top speed of around three miles per hour. Their mouths measure over four feet wide, with over three hundred teeth. But don't fret. They pose no significant threat to humans. Just be cautious around their tails."

I saw a huge ray under the surface. "What kind of a ray is that?"

"That was Tallulah, one of our four manta rays here at the aquarium. We are the only aquarium in the United States that has manta rays, and one of only four in the world. We have four whale sharks and four manta rays in this exhibit, along with thousands of other fish."

"Holy tasteycakes, how big is this tank?"

"Over six million gallons. No other aquarium in the world has ever attempted to house so many different variety and sizes of fish together before," Brian said, and you could see the pride in his eyes at that statement.

"Want to try it, Babe?" Ranger asked, giving me an encouraging squeeze.

_Oh well, who needs fabulous hair anyways. Right?_

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A/N: I know this chapter is a little fluffy and part of the next one will be too. But, I promise you, we will get back to the Mission and more will be revealed soon. There is a reason that they needed this, but no I'm not going to tell you what it is. LOL! Though you are more than welcome to guess.

Please review! They always make me smile.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sacrifices **

**Chapter 13**

Disclaimer: Nope! They still aren't mine.

A/N: Well, my muse decided to stop by, and considering that she has all these ideas for new stories. I'm demanding that she sticks her butt here in NC for a while. She's been off with Bobby in Cancun, trying to avoid all the white stuff Mother Nature keeps plaguing me with.

I spent last Tuesday in the ER with my little one. I swear, some of the stuff she does, sounds like something that would only happen to Steph. LOL! She was playing chase and fell face first into a cinder block wall. Almost breaking her nose, she has spent this week turning all different kind of shades of black and blue.

Please review!

Jenny: You are the best beta ever, but your friendship means the world to me. Angie: I'm glad you're back with Baby Wishes! I can't wait to see what all you have in store for us. Love ya, Babe! Jennifer: Thanks for everything.

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Steph's POV

"Sounds like fun. Where do we change?" I asked, trying to make sure my internal panic didn't show in my voice.

Brian pointed over his shoulder. "The locker room's straight down that hall to the right."

I stepped out of Ranger's embrace, reached for his hand, and pulled him towards the locker rooms. "All right, Batman. Let's do this."

He quirked his eyebrow up in mild exasperation, and playfully swatted my ass as I went into the ladies locker room.

I pulled my dress over my head and placed it on a hanger in one of the open lockers, before wiggling into the wetsuit. I reached behind my back, trying to grasp the zipper, and yelped in surprise when I felt arms wrap around me.

Ranger chuckled. "Got to be more …"

"If you finish that sentence, I'm going to …" Before I could finish my own sentence, his lips crashed to mine, kissing me as he finished zipping up my suit. I pulled back and playfully swatted his chest. _And oh__ what a chest it __was, covered__ in his skin tight neoprene wetsuit. _

He grinned at me. "Ready to go for a swim, Babe?"

"Hell, yeah. Let's go." I pushed him towards the door. Now that I'd gotten over my fear, I was excited to get in the water.

We walked back over to Brian and Matt. Brain had changed into a wet suit, as well, and they motioned for us to follow them down to the tank's edge.

"First, we're going to fit you with a diving mask, Steph." Brain walked over with two sets of goggles for me to try on.

While Ranger helped me find the one that fit the best, Brian went on explaining the procedures. "We are doing a surface only swim tonight. Ranger said that you haven't been diving before; is that correct?"

_How in the Hell does he know these things? _

I shook my head. "No, I've never been diving."

"I'm sure if you stay around this lug head," Matt chimed in from beside me, pointing to Ranger. "He'll teach you, if you want."

Brian picked up a small black cylinder, with a hose and mouthpiece attached. "This is your oxygen."

"Ummm … Why do we need oxygen, if we're not diving?"

"We use these instead of traditional snorkels, because they are easier to clean and sanitize," Brian said as he handed me a dive vest. "Once we're in the water, you will basically be doing a dead man's float on the water's surface. Try to keep your hands together in front of you, like this." He reached out and clasped his hands above his head. "Use your legs to move around the tank.

"We ask all guests not to touch any of the marine life, but the mantas are extremely curious. Don't be surprised if they bump into you. There are black tipped reef sharks and hammerhead sharks in the tank, as well, but they won't hurt you. The whale sharks will swim fairly close. Keep in mind, they swim in a straight line, and move out of the way of their tails."

Brian spent the next several minutes going over a few hand signals and explaining the rest of the procedures to me, while Ranger helped me clip on my tank and showed me how everything worked. In no time at all, we were in the water.

The guys let me get used to my equipment, and then we were off. Words couldn't describe the experience. I started to panic when a rather large hammerhead shark swam close by, but it seemed more scared of us and quickly went to the bottom of the tank.

Before long, the mantas were swimming around us, and one of them brushed my arm gently with their pectoral fin. The highlight of the evening, though, was the whale sharks. Brian had told us a lot about them. These were young whale sharks and only about a quarter of the size they could grow. I couldn't imagine what they'd look like as adult sharks in the wild. They swam at a leisurely pace, and they were truly magnificent creatures.

As our time in the water drew to a close, we swam back towards the ladder and climbed out of the water.

"_Oh my God!_ That was amazing," I said, with a huge grin on my face.

The guys were all smiles as we made our way back to the locker rooms. I stopped at the door and looked over my shoulder at Ranger. "Unzip me, please?"

He pushed the door open and followed me inside. Lying on the bench in front of the locker that held my dress, I found two fluffy towels, a wash cloth, and a shower bag with travel sized containers of bath stuff.

Ranger unzipped my wet suit and gave me a peck on the lips. "I'm going to go shower and change. I'll be waiting for you." He turned on his heel and walked from the room.

I picked up the towels and toiletries and walked into the large shower, where I wiggled out of my wetsuit and washed away the aquarium water. Once clean, I spent the next half hour making myself presentable again.

As I stepped out of the locker room, Ranger took my hand and pulled me out of the back area of the aquarium. We walked hand in hand out of the Ocean Voyager Gallery and into the Atrium. We spent hours walking through the different galleries.

My stomach growled, just as we were coming out of the Tropical Diver Gallery.

Ranger chuckled. "Let's go feed the beast."

We walked back toward the Ocean Voyager Gallery, passing the door that took us back to the car.

"Ummm … Ranger? The car's that way, right?"

"It is." He smiled.

Damn him and his two word answers. We continued on down the corridor, until we came to a candlelit table for two in front a large viewing section of the exhibit.

Arriving at my chair, he sat me down and gently slid me to the table.

"How did you do all this?" I asked, with a ting of awe in my voice.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." He winked at me.

"I highly doubt you'd kill me. You'd miss me too much. Besides, I'm not scared of you."

He quirked his brow up. Apparently, I was amusing him again.

"Wolfgang Puck caters events here at the aquarium. I called in a few favors. He did say this was the smallest crowd he's cooked for in a while, though."

"Seriously? Wolfgang Puck cooked for us?" This was like some sort of fairy tale. Normal, ordinary girls like me aren't taken on dates like this.

Ranger picked up my hand. "Babe, you are far from ordinary, and you deserve anything your heart desires. Plus, he just happened to be in town and owed me a favor."

My heart went pitter patter, as I cursed my inability to keep my thoughts to myself.

He pulled my hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss there. Placing my hand back on the table, he pulled both lids off our plates. "It's one of his signature creations. It's filet minion lili, with a buttery wine sauce, topped with shaved truffles, chateau potatoes, and creamed carrots."

Picking up my knife and fork, I cut a small bite and almost moaned when it touched my tongue. The flavors exploded in my mouth. I had to admit, it had Ella beat, hands down. We ate at a leisurely pace, enjoying each other's company and the aquatic life surrounding us.

Once we'd finished our meals, Matt appeared with two smaller plates. "Dessert is served," he said with a smile, while placing chocolate painted éclairs with vanilla ice cream in front of me and some sort of fruit in front of Ranger.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing at his bowl.

"Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly." He held out his spoon. "Want a bite?"

I took the spoon in my mouth and couldn't believe my taste buds. Who knew that fruit could taste that orgasmic? I tore off a small bite of éclair and placed it on a small spoonful of ice cream, offering the first bite to Ranger. He surprised me by actually trying it.

"Are you letting the temple have a day off?"

"Babe, I do eat dessert from time to time. But until recently, my favorite dessert has been unavailable to me."

I blushed. "I'm starting to think I'm a bad influence on your sacred temple."

As we finished our desserts, we stood up from the table, and I walked to the glass. I knew it was time to leave, and I wanted one last glimpse at the sharks and mantas.

Ranger wrapped me in his arms and whispered in my ear, "We'll come back."

We slowly made our way back to the employee's entrance, where Matt and Brian were waiting to bid us farewell.

Matt pulled me into a quick hug. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Stephanie. I hope to see you again, soon." He cut his eyes to Ranger. "That's an order, son, not a request."

"Aye aye, sir," Ranger said as Matt pulled him into a manly hug.

"Stephanie," Brian began, "we didn't say anything before, because it can make people subconcious, but there are cameras in the tanks that snap pictures of the animals." He handed me a photo, showing Ranger and me decked out in our gear, taken just as one of the mantas had passed by and touched me with his fin. "We wanted you to have this as a reminder of your evening."

I felt tears well up and smiled gratefully. "Thank you both," I said, brushing the tears away with my fingers, while showing Ranger the picture.

We waved a final farewell as Ranger pulled the SUV out of the underground garage. The traffic was heavy, despite the late hour, and I sighed in contentment as he weaved us in and out of traffic. In no time at all, we pulled into the hotel parking lot. Ranger ran around the SUV and opened my door. Once inside, he shut the door and spun me around, trapping me against the cool metal surface, before crashing his lips to mine.

He pulled back and looked into my eyes. "I love you, Stephanie Plum."

"And I love you, Carlos Manoso."

He picked me up, threw me onto the bed, and instantly covered my body with his own. Our hands made quick work removing all our offending pieces of clothing, except for my boots.

_Apparently, __he really, really liked the boots._

I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him to me. He slipped inside, and we became lost in each other. I could feel a pressure building within me, and when his hand ghosted down to flick his finger across my clit, I let go, screaming his name as I came, pulling him with me.

As we caught our breath, he moved to lie on his back, and I snuggled into his muscular chest.

"Sleep, Babe. Tomorrow, we hunt down Khalid."

I closed my eyes, feeling sad. I knew the day had to come to an end, but a feeling of doom settled upon me, and I couldn't help but feel that something bad was about to happen.

TBC …

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A/N: Okay, well, Adara and Zeke will be back next chapter. Should Steph tell Ranger about her spidey sense humming? What do you think will happen next chapter?

I'm already working on the next chapter and am trying my best to get back to weekly updates. Reviews = sneak peeks.


	14. Chapter 14

Sacrifices

Chapter 14

Disclaimer: The people you recognize aren't mine. The people you don't recognize and plot are mine.

A/N: So Sacrifices is starting to heat up with this chapter. Thanks for reading, and I hope you will stick with it and keep letting me know what you think.

To Jenrar: Babe, I love you! Thank for fixing my chapters and for everything.

To Angie: Babe, are you trying to steal my title as the queen of cliffhangers? Remember, I know where you live, and if you leave me with another cliffie in Baby Wishes, I'm going to be pounding on your door soon.

To Jennifer: I hope you are starting to feel better, and if not, I hope this update will bring a smile to your face.

**Ranger's POV**

I pulled the curtain back a tiny bit and watched as the first glimpse of dawn emerged in the sky. Behind me, I heard the sheets on the bed shift, and I glanced over my shoulder, my eyes taking in the beauty lying in the bed.

She sat up on her elbows. "What's wrong?" Concern laced her voice.

I let the curtain drift back closed. "Nothing. Just watching the sunrise."

"Come back to bed?"

_Who was I to deny her?_

I walked back to the bed, covered her body with my own, and spent the next few hours worshipping her.

Sometime later …

We pulled to a stop down the street from Naughty and Nice and began to watch the building. Steph inevitable started to fidget. I was honestly surprised she'd lasted as long as she had.

It pissed her off to no end to know that I could just sit and wait, silently, for hours. It had taken years of training and discipline to hold my body completely still. I learned on my first mission the dangers a slight twitch could pose. I still had the scar from the bullet that tore through my arm, teaching me the hard way just how fatal a slight shifting of weight could be.

I looked over at her. "Babe?"

She looked at me, her eyebrows raised. "What?"

"You're fidgeting. What's the matter?"

"Maybe it was a bad idea for you to ask me to come down here and help you out with this. You knew how much time we were going to be sitting around and waiting. And you know how much I absolutely suck at it! Patience has never been one of my strong suits." She sighed and closed her eyes.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I reached over and tucked a curl behind her ear. "Patience may not be your strong suit, but like I've told you before, you are exactly what I need on this mission."

"There's nowhere I'd rather be." She leaned over and kissed my cheek, before pulling back to look at me. "So … I've been thinking. We've searched her office and traced her cell account. I think it's time we take a look around her place."

She was right; it was the next logical step in our investigation. "Adara goes home for lunch sometimes, but according to her schedule, she'll be in meetings all afternoon."

"She lives in a house? How are we going to handle getting in?"

"Power, water, cable? Take your pick."

"I'm thinking cable. It gives us access to more of the house if someone happens to be around."

We pulled away from where I'd parked a little before noon, in order to purchase the supplies we'd need to pass as cable workers. We found a supply house and purchased navy blue coveralls, utility belts, and small supplies to help us blend in if a neighbor spoke to us. I also knew we needed to eat, so on our way to Adara's house, I pulled into a local pizza place.

As we were walking back to the SUV, Lady Luck seemed to smile down on us. A Charter Communications truck parked a few spaces down. The truck had magnetic signs on the door and tailgate that showed the truck was owned by a private contractor.

I walked Steph to her door and whispered in her ear, "Babe, I'm going to back out of this spot and pull up beside that Charter truck. I want you to hop out and grab the signs."

She scanned the lot and nodded her acceptance. My idea worked like a charm, and luckily, the truck was parked far enough away that no one saw us steal the magnets.

We stopped a few miles away and slipped on our disguises, before placing the magnets on the side of the SUV. Pulling up to the house, I sent a silent prayer to the heavens that everything would go according to plan.

Steph walked up to the front door and knocked. Both of us tensed as we heard the lock on the door tumble.

A little elderly woman smiled out at us. "May I help you?"

Steph didn't hesitate. "Yes, we are with Charter Communications**—**your cable provider. We are in the neighborhood today, due to some complaints from your neighbors about problems with their signal. We ran a sweep from the main box,"**—**Steph pointed over her shoulder to a box down the road, "**—**and, we received a negative feedback signal from the boxes inside your home. We were wondering if it would be okay for us to come inside and take a look at your TV sets to determine what the problem is."

_And she wonders why I wanted her with me … She's a natural._

The lady looked at Steph, and then at me. "Well … Ms. Adara isn't home. I'm her housekeeper and cook. Normally, she wouldn't allow this. But … I live here, too, and you're right, there is something wrong with the cable. The picture freezes and has static. Please, come inside." She stepped aside and welcomed us in.

Steph flashed a brilliant smile at the woman. "Could you tell us which rooms have TV sets?"

"Of course, dear. There's one in the kitchen, the entertainment room, the office, and every bedroom."

That worked out great. It would allow us to search just about every room in the house. Now if we could get the lady to leave at least one of us alone.

"Thank you for your help, ma'am. We'll be out of your hair in no time." I flashed the lady a smile and turned to Steph. "I'll start down here; you start upstairs." _Please, let her fall for it._

Steph started up the stairs, with the elderly woman right on her heels. I walked down the hall into the office, booted up the computer, and copied the hard drive. I flipped through the files in the cabinet and took pictures of anything that looked relevant. I quickly made my way through the rest of the rooms downstairs, before taking the stairs two at a time up to the top floor.

I could hear Steph down the hall, talking to the lady in an attempt to distract her. I made my way to what looked to be Adara's room. I did a quick search in the nightstand and found a stack of what looked to be love letters. _Finally, something that might be useful_. Unfortunately, there were too many for me to take pictures of, so I stuffed them in my pocket and went off in search of Steph.

We walked out of the bedrooms at the same time. She smiled at me and asked, "Well, did you figure out the problem?"

I grinned at her. "Maybe, but it looks like it's a problem on our end, not the boxes inside the house. I think we should head back to the office and talk to one of the engineers."

Steph turned to the woman. "Estella, it was a pleasure to meet you, and I really appreciate you letting us check for the problem. Once we figure out what's going on, we will come back by to fix it."

I swear, Steph draws people to her like bees to honey.

Estella walked us to the door and waved goodbye as we drove away.

"What did we get?" Steph was practically bouncing up and down in her seat.

I pulled the stack of letters out and tossed them to her. "Those look like love letters. I also copied her hard drive and took some pictures of some files."

Steph pulled the first letter out of the envelope and began to read out loud.

_My love,_

_I count the days until we are together. It seems like forever since I've held you in my arms and kissed your beautiful lips. I'm sorry that I got us into the situation we are in. But … I don't regret the decision I made to keep you safe._

_I think about our future, just the two of us together. The one we dreamed of long ago. That dream of our future together, is what gets me through the long days without you. _

_I love you,_

_Khalid _

Steph set the letter in her lap. "What do you think he means? Obviously, the situation would be the bombing of the USS Cole. But why would he say he'd never regret the decision to keep her safe?"

"I don't know, Babe, but it's not our place to figure that out. Our only job is to locate him."

"What if he's innocent?"

"They have enough evidence to convict him. He's not innocent. It may have been done under duress. Steph, he did it."

"Evidence can be faked, Ranger. There are a lot of innocent people in jail for things they didn't do." Her voice began to rise.

My temper was getting the better of me. "His actions, whether unintentional or intentional, killed seventeen soldiers, Stephanie."

"But … there could be mitigating circumstances. We need to understand why Khalid did what he did."

"_No_!" I growled. "We are not getting any more involved than we already are. It's not our job to judge his innocence."

"What if he did it to save Adara?"

"Seventeen lives … Seventeen families torn apart. Her life isn't worth that." As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I'd gone too far.

Tears pooled in her eyes. "I guess _my_ life wasn't worth it, either?"

I felt like I'd been slapped. Abruzzi was a criminal that had planned to kill her. The soldiers were innocent victims of a brutal attack. How could she compare the two situations?

Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Pull over. Please?"

I pulled the SUV into a small public park.

She opened her door and started to get out of the truck.

"Babe, please …"

She cut me off. "Just leave me alone." She slammed the truck door and walked to a bench near the edge of a small pond.

"How in the hell do I fix this?" I muttered under my breath, as I watched the love of my existence trying to deal with the darkness that surrounded my past.

TBC …

A/N: Soooo? What do you think? Who's right, Ranger or Steph? Did she overreact? Should he see the parallel in the situations?

And what about Khalid? Is he innocent or is evil?

I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Tune in next week. Same bat time. Same bat channel.


	15. Chapter 15

Sacrifices

Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, but RL threw me for a loop last week, and I got to put my inner Ranger snooping skills to good use, while I recovered from Bronchitis.

Thanks for everyone for reading and reviewing. For those that did review, it seems most of you think they are both right on some levels. But now we get to see if they can explain themselves to one another. Onward readers, to chapter 15.

P.S. Special thanks to my beta, the super sweet, amazing Jenny. Thanks to Jennifer for doing what you did. It means the world to me. And Angie, thanks for being my sounding board when too many ideas are swimming around.

**Ranger's POV **

I sat there watching Steph through the windshield for a few minutes, trying to debate what exactly to say. I knew one thing for certain; gone were the days when I'd just let her go. This time, we'd work through this … together.

I opened the door and shut it loud enough for Steph to hear, before walking towards her. I stopped a few feet behind her. "Babe … You ready to talk now?"

She squared her shoulders, before swinging her legs over the bench and meeting me head on. "That depends."

"On?" I closed the distance between us and sat down beside her.

"Can you admit you're wrong?"

I raised my head, closed my eyes, and counted to ten. "I won't admit to being wrong, but maybe we both overreacted some."

"Overreacted? You basically just told me that no woman's life was worth taking the life of another. How am I supposed to react to that statement, when I know you took a life to keep me safe?"

"Steph," I sighed. "The situations don't really compare."

She started to protest, but I placed my finger over her lips.

"Let me explain …" I threw in the one word I knew should get her to listen. "Please?" As the word washed over her, I could see her visibly relax. "Steph, you are comparing a psychopath to a Muslim radical. Abruzzi was a mad man, who set his sights on you when you stepped into his sick and twisted game. Muslim radicals want to inflict damage to our country, to destroy our way of life. They have taken the message of the Quran and twisted it to mean something that most Muslims rebel against."

"Arrgh … I get what you are saying, Ranger, but can't you for one second see that this could be one of those gray areas that you talk about so much? If they were using Adara to force him to do it, he might not have had a choice. Can't you put yourself in his shoes for one second?"

"No, Steph, I can't. Look, we need to get going. We're too exposed here. Can we please finish this discussion elsewhere?"

She stood up, rolling her eyes at me as we walked towards the SUV. She hopped in the passenger seat and crossed her arms, obviously planning to give me the silent treatment.

Once settled in the driver's seat, I pulled out of the lot and picked up the conversation right where I'd left off. "I can't put myself in his shoes, because I refuse to believe that there were no other options."

"So you're saying that if someone gave you a bomb and told you to blow up a ship in order to save my life … you'd let me die?"

"No … that's not what I'm saying at all. What I'm trying to get you to understand is that I can't put myself in Khalid's shoes, because if I was ever put into that type of a situation, I'd figure out a way to save everyone."

"You can't say that; you don't know that for sure," she said in exasperation.

"Babe, I can guarantee there are enough people in this world who owe me favors that I _would _accomplish both."

"Even Batman fails sometimes," she countered. "You might have enough people in the world who owe you enough favors to accomplish both, but what if Khalid _didn't_? He may not have had the kind of resources you do, Ranger."

I sighed as I pulled into the lot of our hotel, parked the SUV, and opened my door. "Let's go in and start going through what we've found. This conversation is getting us nowhere fast." I walked towards our room and opened the door.

"Because you need to take your blinders off and see the whole picture, not just focus solely on the information we need to set you free!" she hissed as she walked into the room.

I shut the door, leaned back, and thumped my head a few times in frustration. "That's the only part that matters to us. Even if we can prove he's innocent, it won't guarantee his freedom. They don't even have to try him under the Patriot Act. They can lock him up under suspicion alone."

"They can't just lock someone up indefinitely!"

I looked at her and shook my head. Sometimes I forgot just how much civilians don't see. "Babe, I wish that I could tell you that nothing bad like that happened, but I'd be lying to you if I did. The world is a cruel and unjust place."

"That may be true, but I have to believe that the good outweighs the evil; if not, then what are we living for? I have to believe there's hope, Ranger. Look … I know your instincts and training are screaming at you to find out his location and walk away."

"You're right, that's what we should do …"

She interrupted before I could say another word. "Can you agree to at least let us try to figure out the truth? If it gets to be too dangerous, we'll pull out, and at least I can say we tried."

_Damn, this __has__ disaster written all over it, but she'll figure out some way to do __it, with__ or without me._

I pinned her with a stern glare. "Can you promise to listen to me, follow directions, and walk away if I say we have to?"

She smiled at me, knowing she'd won this battle. "I promise."

"You finish looking over the letters, while I go over her hard drive. Maybe we'll find a clue." I sat down and booted up the computer, while Steph unfolded another letter.

_**Sometime later …**_

I pushed back from the computer and sighed. How could there be nothing? Not one single file, email, or mention anywhere about Khalid. Had I not found the letters in her nightstand, I wouldn't believe they were connected at all. I looked over at Steph as she set down the last letter.

"Find anything useful?"

She folded the letter up and put it back in the pile. "Nothing that would pinpoint where he's at now. None of these are recent; the last one is several months old. I can understand maintaining a long distance relationship without seeing each other, but can you possibly maintain any kind of relationship with someone that you don't seem to have any type of contact with?"

"They have to be communicating. We just haven't figured out how yet."

"I've got an idea … but I really don't think you'll like it," Steph said, before biting her lower lip.

"I like your ideas, Babe. I just don't like the risk that tends to go along with them." I walked over to the bed and pulled her into my arms.

"I think it's time we consider letting me go see Adara about that job offer."

I shook my head. "No! It's too risky. There's no way for me to keep you safe."

"I'd be posing as an employee, Ranger. I just need to get close to her, to feel her out. She seems lonely; I can befriend her. Maybe she'll let something slip."

I knew she was right, but was the benefit worth the risk?

TBC …

A/N: I'm already working on the next part. So? What do you think? What kind of drama will unfold if Steph goes to work for Naughty and Nice? Please review! They make me smile.


	16. Chapter 16

**Sacrifices **

**Chapter 16**

Disclaimer: The characters that you recognize aren't mine. The plot and everyone else belong to me.

A/N: Well, obviously you guys didn't like last chapter, considering I had over 300 hundred of you on the story, and only 16 of you reviewed. Even if you don't like the chapter, I'd still like to hear from you, so I can try to make the next chapter better.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Please remember that the only form of payment us authors get is your review. Please take the time to tell us what you think of our chapters.

To Jenny – Babe, you're awesome. Love ya bunches.

To Angie – I can't wait to figure out our next adventure.

To Jennifer – Your mind will be wandering again. LOL!

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**Steph's POV**

I crossed my arms as I watched Ranger debating my words. I knew he would hate the idea of me going to work for Adara, but what other option did we have?

"You keep telling me to trust my instincts. We need to do this."

He sighed, getting ready to argue his point.

I cut him off. "But … there is a more pressing issue at the moment."

His eyes darkened, and I would have given anything at the moment to have been talking about the same thing he was thinking about. He stepped towards me.

I took a step back to keep from being drawn into his force field. Now was not the time to fall back into bed for the rest of the day. I shook my head, trying to clear it of the lust induced fog that had settled around me.

"Babe!" He chuckled. "What's this pressing issue?"

"We've got to break into Adara's again."

"Why? We searched the whole house, Babe. There's nothing left for us to see."

"You're right, there's nothing for us to see. But she'll realize her letters are gone. We have to take them back. We can't risk her asking questions."

"Babe, I'd planned to go return them earlier, but … things didn't quite go according to my plans."

I rolled my eyes. _That was the understatement of the year._

"So how are we going to sneak in this time?"

"Well … _we_ aren't going to _sneak_ in this time. _I'm_ going to break in through the window I left unlocked."

"Why not just go and say we think we've figured out the cable problem. I'm sure Estella would let us in again."

"I'm not going to chance exposing you again, especially if we end up having to let you take the job working for Adara."

Ranger picked up the letters and headed towards the door. "We need to get over there before she gets home for the night. It's close to five now. She should be leaving Naughty and Nice soon."

We arrived in Adara's neighborhood a short time later and parked on a side street.

Ranger looked over at me. "Babe, I want you to get in the driver's seat, in case we need to leave in a hurry. It shouldn't take me long, but if you see something suspicious, I want you to hit your panic button."

I nodded my head and watched as he silently slipped out of the car and glided through the bushes that lined the edge of the property.

**Ranger's POV**

Leaving Steph alone out in the open was the last thing I wanted to do, but with Zek running around, leaving her alone at the hotel wasn't an option, either. I would have preferred to take her with me, but sneaking onto Adara's property and returning the letters would be tricky enough without me having to get us both up to the second story undetected.

I had unhooked the alarm sensor and unlocked the window when we were inside the house earlier today. So if everything went according to plan, I should be in and out in less than ten minutes.

I made my way quickly across the yard and stopped in the shadows of the garage, before slowly walking over to the small window and quickly glancing inside. There were no cars; hopefully, that meant the housekeeper was out running errands.

I used a small brick partition that surrounded the back patio to climb onto the roof of the garage, which would grant me access to Adara's window.

Pushing the window up, I slid inside the room. I stood motionless for a few seconds, taking in the sounds around me. Hearing nothing but silence, I walked quickly to the nightstand, pulling out the drawer and returning the letters inside. I reengaged the alarm sensor and locked the window, before making my way downstairs.

I walked to the alarm panel on the wall and breathed a sigh of relief when I realized the housekeeper had left the alarm off. I let myself out the back door and made my way back to Steph.

**Steph's POV**

I watched Ranger sneak through the bushes and started praying everything would go according to plan. The seconds seemed to tick by at a snail's pace. A dark colored sedan drove by, and I shrunk down into the driver's seat. The windows were so dark, I didn't think anyone could see me inside. But … I wasn't going to take any chances, either.

The car drove down to the end of the street and turned. A few minutes later, I saw the same car turning back and coming in my direction. I reached for my gun as the car pulled in front of me. The driver's side door opened, and Zek stepped out of the car.

_What the hell did he want?_

His hands were up as he stepped towards me. I didn't want him to get close to the SUV, so I opened my door and stepped out, keeping my gun trained on his head.

"Don't come any closer," I sneered.

He stopped walking and looked at me. "Stephanie Plum, I didn't really get a chance to introduce myself the other night. I'm Zek Richards, Carlos' handler."

"I know who you are. Now what are you doing here?" _My spidey sense was screaming at me._

"I need your help, Stephanie. Carlos is making a mistake. You need to help me convince him of that."

I rolled my eyes at him. "There is no way in hell I'm going to try to convince him to do anything other than getting out of this contract."

"He'll grow tired of you. You realize that, right? Being with someone like you will never be enough for him. He is the best agent this country's got, and he's going to give it all up for _you._"

"You're wrong!" I hissed.

"He's giving up the rush he gets on a mission. You, little girl, will never be able to keep him satisfied. He'll end up resenting you."

"I didn't ask him to give up anything. This was his choice … his decision, and I'll support that decision one hundred percent. You should leave, Zek. You obviously don't support his choice, so why are you here, exactly?"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, signaling Ranger's arrival.

"She's right, Zek. Why are you here?" Ranger asked as he stepped around me, placing his body in between Zek's and mine.

"I won't sit back and let you make the biggest mistake of your life over some little piece of snatch."

Ranger roared, "Don't you ever speak about _my woman_ that way, you sorry piece of shit. She didn't even know about my contract; she didn't convince me to get out. I want my life back. And if Steph wants to share that life with me, I'll consider myself the luckiest man in the world. My decision wasn't based on a relationship with her. I've explained that to you before. You need to leave Atlanta, Zek, before you do something you'll regret."

Zek turned on his heel and went back to his car. He slammed the door, put the car in gear, and pulled up beside us. His window slid down. "I don't even know who you are anymore, Carlos, but I _will_ show you the error of your ways. Make no mistake about that."

Ranger started to lunge for the car, but I grabbed his arm, holding him in place.

"Let him go. It's not worth it."

"He's threatening us, Babe. I can't let that go." He pulled me into his arms and hugged me to his chest.

"So he threatened us… He's not the first, and he won't be the last. We just need to watch our backs and hurry up and solve this mystery. Then he'll be out of our lives for good."

"When I came out of the bushes and saw you standing there confronting him, my heart stopped. Why didn't you hit your panic button?"

"I knew you would be out soon, and I wanted to figure out what he wanted. You do realize that we need to find Khalid even faster now, right? Zek is up to something, and we can't risk him screwing this up."

"You're right. I don't like it, but tomorrow, you'll go see Adara about a job."

TBC …

A/N: Well, Zek is obviously up to no good. But just how far will he go to keep Ranger in his contract? What do you think? Next chapter will go up next week.

Sneak peeks go to reviewers.


	17. Chapter 17

Sacrifices

Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

A/N: Things are starting to heat up. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Your words of encouragement mean a lot to me.

Let me tell you, the flu sucks. But the flu and bronchitis together is miserable. My little one has the flu and pink eye. It's been yucky here at the house.

I was going to wait and post this tomorrow. But, I got a little excited. Hopefully you won't mind.

To Jenny: Come rain or shine, you are always there to make me smile. Love ya, Babe.

To Jennifer: I can't wait to see what this chapter does to your theories.

To Angie: I love ya! You know that. And I'm hoping your hand is okay.

**

* * *

**

Steph's POV

We walked back to the SUV, and once inside, Ranger looked over at me. "Well, Diana. We've got some work to do."

I blushed. "I really didn't think when I told her that name. How much of a problem is it going to be? Making the Diana name look legit, I mean."

"Babe, do you doubt me?" He raised his eyebrow.

_Oh, who__ was I kidding? This was Batman. Of course this would be no problem._

"No, I just don't want to make this harder than it's going to be."

We pulled into the lot of the hotel and made our way inside. Ranger walked over to one of his large cases and started going through some papers. A few minutes later, he tossed a passport, driver's license, social security number, and credit card to me.

I looked down and couldn't believe my eyes. They had my picture, with the name Diana Prince.

"You always said you wanted to be Wonder Woman. Now we just need to work on her background and leave a paper trail."

He pulled out his laptop and got to work. Within a few hours, Diana had education records, an employment history, and a credit record—enough intel to stand up to any employment screening.

As he was finishing up the records, I went to take a shower. I adjusted the water and stepped under the spray. Once the grime of the day was washed away, I got out and wrapped myself in a fluffy towel.

I stepped out into the room, and Ranger's eyes darkened as they roamed over my body.

"See something you like, Batman?"

He stood up and had me in his arms in a heartbeat. "You know I do," he said, as his lips found mine. He lay me on the bed and spent the rest of the night showing me just how much he liked what he saw.

_**The following morning …**_

"Babe, we need to go over some things, and I need to ask you something," Ranger said as I was getting dressed.

"I thought we went over everything already. We've been discussing this for the past hour! What else could we possible need to go over?"

"We've been going over your cover, safety protocols, and emergency exit strategies. What I want to talk to about now is this." He held up a small spray bottle, that looked like a travel sized perfume bottle.

"What is it?" I asked cautiously.

"This is a GPS tracking spray. It's still in the testing phase, but they've been having extreme success with it. I'd like to use it on you, as an extra precaution. It's better than traditional trackers, because this can't be removed or damaged in any way."

"How long does it last? I don't know that I want to be able to be tracked indefinitely."

"There are ways to remove it, but it does wear off eventually. I just want to use it as a backup, I don't want to risk your panic button malfunctioning and me not having a way to locate you."

"I don't know, Ranger. This seems a little overboard."

**Ranger's POV**

_Sometimes I'm __thankful she__ can't read my mind. _Little did she know, she had already been wearing the spray since the Scrog incident. Unfortunately, the potency was beginning to wear off.

"Babe, please?" I said the one word she seemed unable to say no to.

She sighed. "If you really think it's necessary, I guess it's okay."

I walked over to her, lifted her hair up from her neck, placing a small kiss, and sprayed the tracking solution, before walking over to the computer.

"Come here, Babe."

She walked over and looked at the screen.

"The system is called Overwatch. Now that I've sprayed you, I log into the system and locate your position."

I tapped in our GPS location, and a little green dot showed up on the screen. I punched in a few numbers, and then backed the map out to a country view. Once the map was up, we could see several red dots, some yellow, and some green.

I waited for her curiosity to get the best of her.

"What's with the different colored dots, and how do you tell the dots apart from each other?" she asked, while pointing to some of them on the screen.

"The numbers I punched in when I located your dot are yours. Each dot has a set of numbers. So anytime I need to find you, I log into the system and punch in your numbers, and it brings up your exact location. The green dots are just random people that were tagged to test the system. The yellow dots are US agents who have been tagged before going undercover. The red dots are hostiles—people who have been sprayed so we can keep track of where they are at all times."

"How is that legal?"

I gave her an incredulous look. "Who said anything about it being legal? I've been trying to tell you, Babe. The world is a much darker place than you'd like to believe."

_**Sometime later …**_

**Steph's POV**

We pulled up down the street from Naughty and Nice. I spent the next few minutes going through my cover story and mentally psyching myself up for what I was about to do.

"You ready, Babe?" Ranger asked, as he squeezed my hand in a reassuring gesture.

"No, but I'm getting there."

"You don't have to do this. We can find a different way."

I knew that I could change my mind, and that we would try to find some other way to get the information that we needed. But I also knew that this was the best way.

I smiled at him. He would do anything in his power to keep me safe; now it was my turn to help him.

"No, this is the best way to get the information we need."

I leaned in and kissed him.

His hand slipped up my shirt and turned on my small mic attached to my bra. He pulled back from the kiss. "Go get her, Tiger."

I slipped out of the car and slowly made my way to the front door of Naughty and Nice. I walked inside and up to a receptionist, who was sitting behind a large desk.

She looked up at me and smiled. "May I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Diana. I ran into Adara the other day at the café down the street. She told me to look her up."

She gave me a quizzical look, but picked up her phone. "Yes, there is a lady down here that says she met you the other day at the café. Said you told her to look you up."

She was silent for a minute. "Her name is Diana … Yes, I'll send her down."

She set the phone down. "She is looking forward to seeing you, Diana. If you will walk to the end of this hallway, take a right and go through the warehouse. You'll see her."

I waved a small goodbye and started to make my way down the hallway. I didn't really need directions to her office, since I'd been there before. But I took my time and acted like I was unsure of where exactly to go.

As I approached Adara, she smiled at me. "I was hoping that after our encounter the other day, you would come see me."

"I figured that it couldn't hurt to come see what kind of positions you have available and see if anything interests me."

We walked into her office. "I'm looking for an assistant designer. I have a few other posts open, as well. I'm sure as we talk, we can find something for you. I know you said you worked for E.E. Martin. What did you do for them exactly?"

"Well, I mostly handled their buying and negotiating the contracts between them and the designers. They didn't really design their own line; they bought designs and sold them under their label."

"I see. Well, contract negotiations are definitely something you could help me out on. Did you ever want to design?"

"I think everyone in this industry would like to design, but no one at E.E. Martin would even look at my ideas."

"You didn't bring any with you, by any chance, did you? I'd love to see them."

"No, I brought my resume and some other information I thought you might need."

"How about we order some lunch and spend the afternoon talking about what you envision, and we'll see what we get?"

The rest of the afternoon was spent drawing out designs from my head. Adara brought out some of her newest creations, and we went over fabrics and color choices. By the end of the day, I was immersed back into a line of work that I loved.

It was nearing the end of the day when Adara looked over at me. "See, I told you I thought you would fit in perfectly here. I have a sixth sense about these things."

I smiled at her. "I really had forgotten just how much I loved this line of work."

"So … would you consider coming to work for me as my design assistant? You've been a fabulous help today, and I can just tell that we'll get along perfectly."

_This is going__ to be harder than I thought. _I was really starting to like her already. "I'd love to. When do you want me to start?"

"Tomorrow at nine would be perfect. It will give me time tonight to get your salary package worked out and your contract."

"That sounds good. Well, I guess I'd better be going. Thanks for the opportunity, Adara."

She shook my hand, and I made my way out of the building. I walked down the street and crossed into a parking lot for small grocery store. Ranger pulled up beside me, and I hopped in the SUV.

"That went really well, Babe," he said, as he pulled out into traffic.

I silently worried that things today had gone entirely too well, and that the shit was about to hit the fan.

TBC …

A/N: So Steph is already starting to get attached. Can she keep her emotions in check and get the intel they need? And is she right? Is the shit about to hit the fan?

Tune in next time. Sneak peeks go to reviewers.


	18. Chapter 18

Sacrifices

Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

A/N: Okay, this is a really, really long A/N. I'm sorry, but it explains a lot.

Remember me telling you guys that I'd had bronchitis for like a month, and that it was the third time I've had it in 6 months. Well … let's see, since I last updated, I've been in the hospital. My O² levels were worse than that of an asthmatic, and we found out that I had a really bad strain of pneumonia, that I had to be put on a really strong antibiotic to cure. They did some more testing and found a nodule on my lung, that they will monitor and rescan in a few months, as well.

And just when you think things were looking up, (I mean, we finally knew what was wrong with me, right?), the health department called and said that I have whooping cough as well. So now I have to take a different kind of antibiotic on top of all the meds I'm taking to treat the pneumonia. *sigh*

So … I'm asking that everyone prays for me and my family, that no one else gets any of this, that I'll get better soon, and that when I go to have the scan redone, the nodule is gone. It's been a scary couple of weeks here.

So I'm not going to apologize, because I've been way too sick to even touch the computer. The good news I guess would be that I'm stuck inside my house for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, I'll continue to feel a little better each day and can write some.

To: Jenny, Jennifer, and Angie. Thanks to you three wonderful ladies, for all the love and support you've all given me through this ordeal. I really don't know what in the world I do without you all. I love you ladies, more than I can say.

And to everyone else, thanks for the emails, prayers, and private messages.

* * *

**Ranger's POV**

I knew when Steph walked out of the SUV and made her way inside Naughty and Nice that she would do well. I also realized, as I listened to their conversation as the day went by, that Stephanie being able to keep her emotional distance from Adara was going to be difficult. When I picked her up in the parking lot down the street, I wanted to let her know just how amazingly well she'd done.

"That went really well, Babe," I said as I pulled the SUV out into traffic. I glanced at her periodically as I made my way slowly through crowded Atlanta streets.

She sat there for a few moments. "What if …" She bit her lower lip and looked over at me. "What if it went too well? Doesn't it seem like there should have been more to it than that?"

"I've been coming to watch Adara periodically over the past several months. Prior to bringing you down here, I would add a day onto my trips to see Julie, and one of my missions was spent here in Atlanta gathering intel on her. From what I've seen, her offering you a job at the café doesn't surprise me. She seems to have a very unconventional approach to how she runs her business."

"I didn't realize you had spent so much time gathering intel. I just thought most of our background information came from outside sources and that you probably had her PDA hacked to learn her schedule."

I pulled into the parking lot of our hotel. "Steph, I still don't like letting you go in to work undercover like this, but I wouldn't have agreed had I not spent time learning about her and her business. You fit the type of person she tends to hire and associate with."

"I have to be honest with you, Ranger. After spending the day talking with her, about her business, and her plans for the future, it's hard for me see her risking it all by being associated with someone like Khalid. If … Khalid really did it."

We made our way into our hotel room. "Babe … we've talked about this. You've got to try to keep your emotions separate."

"I'm trying." She sighed.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me. "I know you are, Babe. Working undercover like this is never easy. You are doing an amazing job, especially considering that you've never had any kind of training in working undercover, other than distraction jobs."

"The trouble I'm having with this whole situation is you keep telling me to trust my instincts, but my instincts say something about this whole thing doesn't add up. I've told you since you first showed me the file … something about this is off. I can keep my emotions distanced, Ranger. I can't, however, blindly turn my back on my intuition. My gut feeling tells me there is something majorly wrong here."

Arguing semantics with her would get me nowhere. "We'll figure it out, Babe. Somehow … someway." I sighed, praying I could keep my word as the next words fell from my lips. "I promise."

Her face lit up as she slid her fingers into my hair, pulling my lips down to hers. Her tongue caressed my lips, seeking entrance, which I quickly granted. Our tongues intertwined in a seductive dance.

I slid my hands around her slender waist, down the rounded globes of her tantalizing ass, and gripped her thighs, lifting her until her legs wrapped around my hips. I spun around, pinning her to the wall behind me, never breaking the kiss.

My cock ground against her, simulating the act we both desperately wanted.

She pulled back and groaned. "Ranger, please!"

"Please what, Babe?" I murmured as I nipped her ear.

Her hands slid down and started pulling my shirt up. "Make love to me …" Her breath hitched as my hand slid under her shirt and tweaked her nipple, pulling it to a hard point.

"Please …" she moaned, her hand fisting the fabric of my shirt when my hand glided to her other breast, pinching the twin between my fingers.

I pulled her shirt over her head, removing her bra seconds later, and lowered my mouth to her beautiful breast, placing open mouthed kisses around the areola, before biting down on the taught nipple. I laved the sting away, before kissing my way to her other breast and bestowing it with the same treatment.

She was becoming desperate for release, her hips bucking against my straining cock. Luckily for me, she'd worn a skirt to see Adara today. I reached down and ripped the thong from her body, causing her to gasp at the sting of pain.

I flicked my wrist and released my cock, burying myself in her dripping heat. I paused for a moment, savoring the feel of warmth encasing me. Then I let my hips flex, pulling out almost completely, before grinding back home. I set a rapid pace, riding her so hard, I could feel the tip of my cock hitting her womb.

I could feel my balls clenching, so I reached down and ran my finger over her clit, up one side and down the other.

She moaned in sheer need, standing on the ledge of release, begging me to push her over. I pinched her clit between my fingers and twisted just enough to throw her into orgasm.

"Oh God!" she wailed, as her pussy convulsed around my cock, pulling me to release as well.

We stood there for long moments, savoring the connection between us.

Steph sagged against me, resting her head on my chest, trying to catch her breath. I knew her body was drained from the long day at work and my ravaging her against the wall. I slowly pulled out, slid her legs down from my waist, and picked her up. I walked over to the small bed and gently laid her down, before helping her remove her skirt and tucking her under the covers.

"Rest, Babe," I murmured, before leaning down and brushing a small kiss across her swollen lips.

Glancing around the room, I noticed a stack of take out menus by the phone. Rummaging through the choices, I picked up the room phone and placed a quick order to a small Chinese restaurant down the street, for delivery in about an hour.

**Sometime later …**

Steph and I spent the evening going over bits of her conversation with Adara, discussing things that needed to be looked into, and ways for Steph to try to get Adara to slip up and give us information, without making her suspicious.

We crawled into bed and curled up into an exhausted heap. As my eyes began to drift shut, I sent a silent prayer up to the heavens. _Help me to keep her safe, loved, and whole. Please, don't let the darkness that has encompassed my __life darken__ her spirit. And let her still love me when this is all said and done._

I leaned over and kissed her curls and she sleepily mumbled, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Babe," I said, knowing I meant the words with everything that I am.

**Steph's POV**

I woke up the next morning cradled in Ranger's arms, and savored the feeling of security and contentment. I'd dreamt for years that we would eventually come to a point where we could be together.

I glanced over at the sleeping man and smiled. He'd always wanted a relationship with me, but feared his military contract limited his ability to have a committed relationship. I mentally shook my head in disbelief. Men could be such morons sometimes. Why couldn't he see that spending any amount of time with him would be better than spending all those years apart? We had so much lost time to make up for.

I sighed and felt him chuckle.

"Awfully deep thoughts for five A.M., Babe."

"Five A.M.? You have got to be freaking kidding me!" I glanced over at the clock and cringed. "What the hell am I awake this early for?" I groaned. I was missing out on much needed beauty sleep.

"I've told you before, you would start seeing the whole waking up early thing my way." I felt his chest shake with laughter.

Hitting his rock hard chest would probably hurt me more than him, so I propped myself up on my elbow and glared, which only caused him to laugh harder.

He stood up from the bed and dragged me into his arms.

I yelped in surprise. "Hey … put me down."

He carried me into the bathroom, turned on the water, and spent the next half hour turning my frown at being awake into a beautiful smile.

**Around nine A.M. …**

We parked down the street from Naughty and Nice, and I pulled down the sun visor to do a last minute make-up check.

"Babe, you may want to work on your blank face some before you go inside. You're glowing like a light bulb." He was trying to act to serious, but I could hear amusement in his voice.

"If anyone can tell that I've been thoroughly satisfied, it's no one's fault but your own," I retorted back.

"Are you complaining?" he replied.

"No, but are you fishing?" I smirked at the cocky jerk.

"Fishing?" He raised his eyebrow in question.

"Fishing for compliments. Really, Ranger, are you that insecure?" I quickly jumped out of the SUV and made my way down the street, not giving him time for retribution.

I walked inside the reception area and was greeted by the secretary from the day before. "Diana, it's so nice to see you back again. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself yesterday. I'm Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam."

I reached out and shook her hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Sam."

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine." She stepped out from behind her desk and motioned for me to follow. "Adara asked me to show you upstairs. If you'll follow me, please."

We walked up a short flight of steps to a conference room. Adara and a man I didn't recognize stood as I entered. Sam waved goodbye and quickly left.

Adara smiled at me. "Diana, this is our attorney, Mr. Williams. He's here to go over your contract and answer any questions you may have."

We all exchanged quick handshakes, and Adara passed over a portfolio as Mr. Williams began to speak. "Ms. Prince, I think that you will find everything in order and satisfactory. I know you and Ms. Majidah didn't go over salary figures yesterday, but I believe you will find the offer overly generous. We have a strong belief in those that are employed here and feel that we compensate them well for all their hard work and loyalty."

I started flipping through the portfolio as the lawyer kept going over facts and figures. My ears started to ring as I looked over the benefit package, 401K savings, flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement accounts, free health insurance, life insurance; the list went on and on.

When I flipped over the page to my salary, I started to hyperventilate. _Holy __crap! This was twenty__ grand more than I'd make in a year if I worked full time for _Ranger.

"This is way too generous, I don't know that I can accept it."

Adara grinned at Mr. Williams. "See, Uncle. I told you she was a gem."

My ears perked up at the endearment. We hadn't found any familial connections for Adara here in the states, yet she'd called him uncle.

Mr. Williams gave me an approving look. "Seems to me you just proved yourself worth every dime." He sat down beside me and started going over the remainder of the employment contract.

Everything seemed well in order, and as I signed my name to the final page, a strong sense of regret washed over me. I was lying to this woman, and she'd just offered me my dream job. I worried that if I did, in fact, prove this woman innocent, she would never forgive my betrayal.

Adara was giddy by the time the contract was signed and sealed. "Today, we are going to celebrate by picking one of your designs from yesterday and one of mine, and we are going to make them into sample copies."

She wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and we made our way down to her office and spent the rest of the day turning our designs in working samples.

By the end of the day, we were both exhausted, but pleased with the mock-ups we'd created.

Adara's cell phone rang, and she dashed to answer it. "Hello." Her face lit up. "Oh, tonight? Well … I had really wanted to take my new employee Diana out to dinner to celebrate our wonderful new samples we created today."

She glanced at me, and I mouthed, "You go ahead. We can celebrate another time." I couldn't help but hope the person on the other line might be Khalid.

I started gathering my things, and she shook her head at me, holding up a finger, asking me to wait a minute.

She turned back to her phone call. "Well, of course you want to meet her. I would have expected nothing less from you." She paused. "I assume that's your way of asking if you might sneak a peek at the samples, as well?" She chuckled, listening to the caller. "If you insist on crashing our celebratory dinner, then I must insist that you pay for both our dinners as well, old friend."

_Hmmm …. Old friend. Doesn't seem likely the call is from Khalid._

"Okay, we will see you in thirty minutes. Make sure to get us a table out of the way, if you expect to be able to look at the samples. I can't risk one of my competitors stealing one of these out from under me."

She kissed at the phone. "Love you, too, dear heart. See you soon." She pressed the end button and looked over at me.

"I hope you didn't have plans tonight, seeing as I just commandeered your evening." She smiled at me. "It's a long standing tradition here at Naughty and Nice. I take all new hires out to dinner after their first full day on the payroll."

"No, it's fine. I didn't really have any plans this evening." I knew Ranger would be listening to this and be furious, what with no prep work on his part, and I was going in blind to an unknown location.

We stepped outside Naughty and Nice a few minutes later and were greeted by two of Adara's guards. "Good evening, gentlemen. I'd like you to meet my new employee, Ms. Prince. Diana, these are my guards, Mac and Danny. My father insists that I need protection, since I'm here in the States by myself. And I've learned over the years, it's just easier to give him his way."

She glanced at the guys. "Tonight, we're going to Bones to meet Mr. Richards for dinner and drinks."

The two guys nodded their heads and escorted us over to a shiny, cream-colored Cadillac Escalade. After helping us into our seats, they got in and we were off, heading towards Bones. _Whatever that __is,_ I thought to myself, watching the scenery pass by.

As the SUV glided to a stop at the front of the restaurant, Mac stepped out and helped both Adara and me from the back. We stepped inside to the hostess, and Adara didn't even have to give her name.

"Ms. Majidah, Mr. Richards is waiting in the back. If you and your guest would follow me, please."

As we neared the table, I couldn't shake the sudden case of nerves, and I learned why when we arrived at the table. A man turned slowly to greet us, and my heart skipped a beat as I looked into the cold sinister eyes of Zek.

"Diana, I'd like you to meet my dear family friend, Ezekiel Richards."

"The pleasure's all mine, Diana," Zek said, while pulling my hand up to his lips.

TBC …

A/N: Dun … Dun … Dun! *Ducks down and hides*

Soooo … What do you think? What's Steph going to do?

Please review, they make me smile.

Plus I can't wait to hear what you think about the latest twist. Now that I finally seem to be on the mend the next chapter should, *fingers crossed nothing else goes wrong*, go up next Tuesday.


	19. Chapter 19

Sacrifices

Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Zek, Adara, Sam, Khalid and anyone else you don't recognize are mine. Ranger and Steph still belong to her.

A/N: I'm never going to say when I'm going to post the next chapter anymore. Because anytime I do, I seem to jinx myself and something happens. This time, my son got to go have a splinter of wood surgically removed from his leg. I mean, who has this kind of luck? ME, apparently!

As for me, I feel a lot better. Still coughing, but it's manageable. I go for an x-ray to make sure the pneumonia is gone next week. *fingers crossed*

So I'll update as soon as possible. That way, no more jinxy bad luck, maybe. I hope. LOL!

Thanks to my awesome beta and dear friend, Jenny. And Jennifer, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and that everything went well today! *hugs*

**Ranger's POV**

When Steph agreed to go dinner with Adara, I could have strangled her. Though, Adara asking Steph to accompany her shouldn't have surprised me. No amount of planning works when one Stephanie Michelle Plum is involved.

I followed them to Bones. Luckily, I'd visited the restaurant on many occasions when I owned the Atlanta office. So I knew the layout inside, if I needed to extract Steph in a hurry.

I watched the women walk inside and said a quick prayer that nothing would go wrong.

As soon as I heard Ezekiel's voice, I knew those prayers had been in vain. This situation couldn't be any more disastrous. How had Zek established himself in Adara's inner circle? How long have they known each other? What was Zek's game plan here?

My head was swimming with unknowns and worry. Would he blow Steph's cover?

I moved towards the back entrance of the building, ready to extract Steph if necessary. I knew the two of us could overpower Zek if necessary.

**Steph's POV**

It was all I could do not to jerk my hand away from Zek. _What in the hell is going on? _I wanted to ask, but for once, I managed to keep my thoughts to myself.

Zek released my hand and smiled at us. "Adara, you didn't tell me of Diana's beauty. Such a captivating sight to behold."

Adara smiled. "She's just as stunning as her designs. I can't wait for you to see them."

I gave them both a brilliant smile. "Oh, you two, stop it. You're trying to make me blush."

"Now Adara, you really must tell me, just how did you meet this alluring temptress?" Zek asked, his eyes never leaving mine.

Adara gave a small giggle. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. We happened to strike up a conversation at the café down the street from Naughty and Nice. I told her that I owned the design firm, Diana mentioned that she used to work for E.E. Martin, and the rest is history."

"History, huh?" Zek smirked at Adara.

Adara grinned at Zek. "You know how I am... I have a sixth sense about these things."

"No offense to your lovely companion, Adara, but I've warned you about following that sixth sense of yours blindly into the light. One of these days, dear heart, you will get burned." Zek's voice turned cold as his eyes traveled to me.

I offered a serine smile to the vile specimen before me. "No offence taken, Mr. Richards. I must admit our meeting was most unusual."

"Oh, pish posh, Mr. Serious. You need to let loose and live a little," Adara said in an admonishing tone.

Zek raised an eyebrow at Adara. "Mr. Serious. Little girl," he growled, "I'd advise you to watch your step."

I didn't quite understand the dynamic at play here. What type of relationship did these two have? Zek seemed almost protective of Adara, but the look in his eye almost seemed to be one of longing.

Adara giggled. "Oh, I'm so scared, Mr. Richards. Are you a wolf in sheep's clothing?"

_If only she knew just how true that statement was._

Zek gave Adara a devilish smile. "The better to bite you with, my dear."

Adara giggled and motioned to the dance floor in the main hall. "Bite me, you may not, but I insist that you show off your skills on the dance floor. Why don't you show Diana one of your many talents?"

He stood up and held out his hand to me. "It would be my pleasure to escort this delicate rose. Would you do me the honor, Diana?"

_Who did he think he was fooling with this sickly sweet, nice guy act?_

Refusing would probably raise unwanted questions. I barely held back my contempt for the man as I placed my hand in his and allowed him to help me from my seat.

We made our way to the small dance floor, and Zek pulled me in close. Wrapping his hands around my body, he leaned in to whisper in my ear, "Imagine my surprise when Adara handed you to me on a silver platter."

We started moving in a slow waltz around the floor.

"I don't know what kind of game you are playing, Zek, but you won't get away with it…"

He held a finger to my lips, silencing my words. "Sorry to the bearer of bad news, my dear, but I've already won the game. Carlos just can't see the whole picture yet. I told you before; I won't sit back and watch him ruin everything."

I chose to ignore his comments about Carlos and leaned back. He ran his hand from my lips and traced his way down by body to my waist. I couldn't stop the shiver that ran through me as his hands gripped me there.

He smirked at my discomfort. "Are you afraid?" he asked.

I gave myself a quick pep talk and answered in a steady voice, "No, I know better than to fear someone like you. But since we are stuck dancing with each other to keep up appearances, why don't you answer some questions for me. How long have you known Adara? What are you trying to prove, and why exactly didn't you tell her that I'm not who she thinks I am?"

This whole situation made no sense. I was starting to get a headache from trying to process too much information at once.

"Oh, dearest Stephanie, you and Carlos have made this one of the most exciting games ever. I never lose the game, and I always get what I desire, Ms. Plum. You'll learn that soon enough."

"You won't be the first person to underestimate me, Mr. Richards," I sneered.

Zek's eyes simmered with anger. He leaned in close and whispered towards my chest. "Carlos, I know you are listening. It's about time for someone to teach this young lady her place. If you don't teach her to bite her tongue, someone might just remove it for her."

I gasped, trying to pull away from him. "My place is right by his side, Zek. It's a pity you are so insecure about yourself that you have to treat women like this." I finally broke free from his grasp and turned to walk away.

He grabbed my hand, jerking me around and causing me to stumble forward. "You aren't going anywhere until I tell you to. Adara wanted us to dance. Now be a good little pet and keep up pretenses." He gripped my upper arm hard enough to leave a bruise.

"Let go of me," I hissed, "unless you want Carlos to come in here and ruin everything."

He released his grip on my arm, but started us in a slow dance once again.

I needed to get myself together and get the upper hand of the situation. "Your motivations here, Zek, are little hard to understand. Why don't you fill me in and explain why you inserted yourself into Adara's life."

He chuckled. "I can see why he keeps you around. The entertainment factor alone might make you worth the trouble. But I've never understood why he refused to bring you into the business. Now I realize he must have felt you incapable of submitting to the amount of control needed in our line of work. Pity, really."

"You keep trying to take the focus off you and place it on me. Make me question Carlos. Nice try, but I know the type of man he was and the man he's become. I won't allow your petty attempts at distraction to affect me. Now why don't you answer the damn question of the hour? Why the hell are you here?"

As the last strain of the music filled the room, Zek placed his finger under my chin and tilted my face up to his. He leaned in close, until his lips were almost touching mine. "I'm here to protect an asset. That's all Carlos is. He's no longer considered a person; he's property. A highly skilled, highly trained killing machine. He can't protect you, because the greatest risk to you, is himself. As far as my interest in Adara..." He moved his finger and tapped my nose. "That information is none of your concern. Remember your place, Ms. Plum." He walked away, back through the small entry to the back room where our table was located.

I stood still, rooted to the spot, trying to gather my composure. After a few moments, I was finally able to force my feet to move and made my way back to Adara. I was shocked to find her alone at the table. "Where did Ezekiel go?"

She smiled at me. "He got an urgent phone call and said he had to leave. He told me to give you his regards and thank you for the dance. Said he found you most enlightening."

_Enlightening isn't the word I would use to describe the experience. _One thing I did learn from the encounter: Zek was a madman, and probably the most dangerous opponent I'd ever faced…

**TBC…**

Well …. What is Zek up to? What will he do next, and what do you think his true reason is for inserting himself into Adara's life?

Please review and let me know what you think. And I also want to say thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. They really mean a lot.


	20. Chapter 20

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 20**

**Disclaimer:** The plot's mine, Adara, Khalid, and Zek are mine. Ranger and Steph are still hers.

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone for sticking with this story. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what's going on. The next few chapters will continue to build the drama.

I ask that you please be understanding about the hiatus I took from writing. Please know that this story will be completed. My hope is to post chapters every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Many of you know that I had whopping cough last year, which turned into bacterial phenomena and landed me in the hospital for a few days. Everyone told me it would take a year to fully recover and I thought they were full of sh*t. But man were they right! My lungs still need to be monitored once a year because of the damage the whopping cough caused, but hopefully that will eventually go away. Not to mention my family members falling apart at the seams, but everyone is finally on the mend and doing better. Thank the Lord.

**Ranger's POV**

Listening to the way Zek spoke to Steph had me ready to kill the man. There was only one reason for me to stay outside, listening to the bullshit spewing from this assholes mouth. Steph's safety.

Imagine my surprise when the back door opened and out came the man himself.

Zek stopped abruptly. "I knew her lap dog wouldn't be far away."

"Zek, don't pretend that whole show in there wasn't for my benefit. You knew I wouldn't risk blowing Steph's cover to deal with you inside. But Adara isn't out here. There's no one here for you to hide behind."

He looked me straight in the eyes and laughed. "I must admit, watching her squirm made my day."

The thin hold I had on my patience broke, and I lunged for the son of a bitch. My fingers bunched in the fabric of his jacket as I lifted him off his feet, slamming him into the door he'd just walked through.

"Easy, Carlos. Don't do something you'll grow to regret."

"It's you who should watch himself. My contract's no longer any of your concern. It's out of your hands—the General made sure of it. Now stay the fuck out of our way. Or I guarantee..." I applied a slight amount of pressure to his windpipe. Not enough to cut off his breathing, but enough to show just how simple it would be to snap him like a twig. "...I'll _end _you."

I released him and began to walk back toward the SUV, when he called out.

"I will make your life a living hell. Bringing her here was your greatest mistake."

I stopped walking, suddenly regretting my choice of letting him go.

"You just gave me your biggest weakness on a silver platter," he continued. "She's your Kryptonite, and that knowledge will cause your demise."

Spinning on my heel, I closed the short distance between us and swung my fist, connecting solidly with his jaw. "You seem to have forgotten who I am, Zek." I fumed as my fists impacted over and over with his face and abdomen. "Are you threatening what's mine? You stupid, arrogant, piece of shit!"

Zek's body began to sag as he pathetically tried to fight back. "Yours? Does Stephanie realize you see her as nothing more than a possession? Nothing more than a piece of jewelry, in the safe in your penthouse?"

My fists flew, placing strategic blows all over his body. "She's no one's possession. Now back the Fuck off, before I kill you."

The door to the restaurant swung open, and the manager and a couple of male employees dashed outside. The manager took one look and yelled inside. "Call the cops!"

I released Zek, and he sagged against the building with a slight chuckle. "Marco ..." Zek stated, while pulling a handkerchief from his suit pocket, placing it against his slashed lip to stop the bleeding. "Marco, dear friend, we will not need the services of the police department this night."

Marco gave Zek a look of disbelief. "Mr. Richards, are you sure? This man assaulted you."

"It was just a slight misunderstanding. Isn't that right, old friend?" He bestowed me with an evil smile, before turning to Marco. "Tell the operator that it was a false alarm."

Marco relayed the message, and focused back on Zek. "Let me help you to your car, Mr. Richards."

As Zek reached his car, he opened the door and glanced back in my direction. "I wouldn't make threats you can't keep, Carlos. Such idiocy could prove to be a deadly mistake for your little plaything inside."

Rage ran through my like I'd never felt before as the words dripped like venom off my tongue. "It's not a threat! _It's a promise!_"

Zek nodded his head, before starting his car and driving away.

The manager's eyes swept over me in a condemning gaze. "I don't know who you are, sir, but you are no longer welcome here. I'd suggest you be on your way—seeing as how Mr. Richards is no longer here to save you from the authorities."

I bit back my anger and walked toward the SUV. Once inside, I pulled out my Sat phone and made a call I'd had no intention of making.

She picked up after a few rings. "Hello?"

"Babe, pretend that you are talking to a friend. You need to try to move this dinner along."

Steph giggled into the phone."Today … It was absolutely fantastic. How was your day? Did everything turn out okay?"

"Zek and I had a little discussion outside. I was forced to leave the property. I want you to act like I'm asking you to go to a club tonight."

"Which one?" Her voice had an edge to it.

"Get her to drop you off at Primal."

"What about …"

I cut her off. "She'll want to go with you. I almost guarantee it. Luckily, this is one of the most popular clubs in Atlanta. It will be easy for me to slip you away from her."

"Okay, that sounds good. What time do you want me to meet you there?"

"I want you standing inside that club in no less than thirty minutes. Do you understand?" I knew I sounded heavy-handed, but I needed her in my arms to make sure that she was okay.

She mumbled under her breath, "Watch it, mister," before giggling into my ear. "Hang on a sec."

"Adara, would it be a problem to drop me off at Primal, instead of taking me back to Naughty and Nice?" Steph was silent a few seconds.

My ear mic picked up Adara's answer. "Yes, dropping you off won't be a problem, but if you are going to Primal, we need to do some quick shopping first. You're not dressed for clubbing."

Steph spoke into the phone. "I'll be there. It might take a little longer than thirty minutes, though."

I growled into the phone. "What you are wearing is fine. You won't be at Primal long enough for it to matter. Thirty minutes, Babe. I'll see you then." I quickly ended the call, not giving her a chance to argue.

**Steph's POV**

The sound of a click resonated in my ear, and I pulled the phone away. _The jerk hung up on me._ I looked over at Adara and smiled. "We must have gotten disconnected."

"Must have. What's his name?" she asked, a smirk on her face.

_Holy crap, what gave me away?_

"Your face lit up when you heard his voice. I may be a workaholic, Diana, but I do know quite a bit about love. So what's his name?"

The question caught me off guard, and I almost replied Ranger. "Ric. His name is Ric."

Her hand flew up in the air, beckoning our waiter over. "We are ready for our check."

"Mr. Richards has already taken care of everything. He wished for me to tell both of you beauties that your company was exquisite and that he can't wait to see you both again. Sooner, rather than later." Picking up a few of our finished plates, he took off toward the kitchen.

Adara's eyes gleamed as she smiled at me. "Let's go get you ready for clubbing tonight."

Within thirty minutes. I had a few bags of what Adara called club clothes. The store we went into seemed to be more Lula's speed than mine, but after a few minutes, Adara had me in a really cute ensemble. We pulled up outside of Primal almost an hour after Ranger's call.

Adara gave my hand a squeeze as I opened my door. "Diana, I would completely understand if you want to just work a half-day tomorrow. Have a fun night celebrating, and I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

The club was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. I glanced around, knowing Ranger was there, but not seeing him anywhere. I stepped out onto the floor and felt a hand squeeze my behind. I spun around, my hand in the air, and slapped the young man across the face. Before I could utter a word of disapproval, Ranger had the guy by the throat.

"You need to learn a lesson about respect and how to treat a lady," Ranger growled.

I almost felt sorry for the guy.

His eyes were tearing up as Ranger squeezed ever so slightly, constricting his airflow. "S—S..." He couldn't get enough air to form any words.

"What was that? I didn't hear you?" Ranger barked, as the man's eyes widened in fear.

I placed my hand on Ranger's shoulder, hoping to direct his anger toward me. He shrugged my hand away. "Ranger!" I hissed. "Let him go. He can't breathe."

Ranger's grip loosened slightly, and the man sucked in large gasps of air.

Finally, after a few seconds, he mumbled, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother your girlfriend."

Ranger shoved the guy away, and I gave him a look of total disbelief.

"What the hell, Ranger!" I yelled, finally pulling his full attention to me, while the guy scurried away like a frightened little mouse. "He didn't mean any harm."

"No one is allowed to treat you that way, and that insolent little punk picked the wrong damn day to try my patience." Ranger grabbed my arm and started walking toward the back of the club.

I didn't feel like starting an argument, and he was obviously upset about something. Surely my little run in with Zek couldn't have caused him to be this upset. "Ummm … Ranger? Where are we going?"

"Bathrooms." His short clipped response would have scared some people.

_Bathrooms?_

"But I don't need to go to the bathroom," I said, pulling back just a little.

Ranger's hand gripped my arm a little tighter—not enough to hurt, but firm enough to guarantee I wasn't going to not go where he lead me. He completely ignored my protest and continued moving toward the back of the club.

He walked us into the ladies restroom, which I was surprised to find completely empty. As the door shut, I heard the lock on the door click into place. I slowly turned to face Ranger, and an almost feral look crossed his face.

"Strip!" he ordered.

**TBC …**

A/N: Soooo? What did you think?

I would like to say a quick thanks to my Super Beta and one of my Best Friends, Jenny aka Jenrar! Love ya, Babe.

Please review! Reviews are the only way I know that you liked the chapter.


	21. Chapter 21

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 21**

**Disclaimer:** Adara, Khalid, and Zek are mine. The rest are hers.

**A/N:** Thanks for continuing to read this story, please review. Thanks so much for all the awesome reviews last chapter. It's so good to be back.

Now, I've got a little bit of a caveman to deal with ... so let's carry on. Shall We?

**Steph's POV**

_Strip? Has he lost his mind?_

I looked into Ranger's eyes and could see the look of determination on his face. Obviously, something was wrong. I could practically feel the anger vibrating off of him. I needed to figure out what was going on.

"What happened?" I asked as I backed up a few steps.

"Zek and I had a little discussion," Ranger almost snarled as he took a step toward me.

"About?" My thighs made contact with a marble countertop.

"You. He seems to think that he can threaten you." Ranger stopped a few steps in front of me and picked up a small vase full of flowers. "He's planning to use you against me." He sneered as he flung the vase, shattering it against the wall. "Now...are you going to take off those clothes, or am I?" he growled as he took two steps in my direction.

My Hungarian/Italian temper flared as I spat out, "I don't know what is going on with you, but there is no way in hell that I'm stripping out of my clothes in a public restroom."

His hand snapped out, grasping the fabric of my shirt, triggering a cascade of buttons scattering across the floor as the material ripped open. "Don't push me, Stephanie. Strip!"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" I yelled as my hands shot out, pushing him away.

"Who am I?" His eyes were laced with fury as he pressed his body to mine. "_I_ am the man you promised to not run off half cocked. _I_ am the man who had to leave you alone in that God forsaken restaurant with a man who wants to use you against me. _I_ am the man who had to listen to that psychopath while he held you in his arms. _I_ am the man that had to listen to him threaten your life. And _I_ am also the man who is going to strip you out of those fucking clothes to make sure that asshole isn't eavesdropping into every bit of our fucking conversation."

I looked at him in total disbelief. I could understand him being scared, but I couldn't deal with the his heavy-handed bullshit right now. "Do you think I'm a complete and total idiot?" I yelled. "Do you honestly think that after everything we've been through with Zek already that I would just waltz in here to meet you without checking myself for bugs? When are you ever going to trust me?" I fumed, poking him in the chest.

"Trust is earned," he seethed.

"Obviously no one can live up to Saint Ranger's standard of trust. Because I would have thought by now, I've done enough to prove I deserve it."

He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me into his arm.

I jerked my hand away. "_No! _Right now, you just need to leave this room and let me attempt to fix this." I motioned down to the tattered remains of my shirt. "I'll meet you at the truck."

**Ranger's POV**

I was mad at myself, mad at Steph, but mostly...I was furious at Zek. I didn't know how to make her understand how dangerous he'd made this entire situation.

When Steph pulled away from me, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it at her, before moving toward the door. As I flipped the lock and threw open the door, I bit out, "If you aren't outside within five minutes, I will come back in after you, and the kitten I am now will be nothing compared to my anger if I have to come back in here."

As the door shut behind me, I heard Steph yell, "Asshole!"

I knew her assessment was correct, but at the moment, I was walking a thin line with my control, and being an asshole was all I could currently manage.

The exit of the club was right ahead, when a waiter from the club walked up to me. "Sir, I'm going to have to insist that you put your shirt back on. You can't be in here without a shirt."

I just kept walking.

"Sir..." He reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Sir!"

I glanced at his hand and shot him a "don't fuck with me" look.

"I'm sorry..." He backed away. "Just ummm...yeah." He turned on his heel and walked the other way.

**Four minutes and forty-five seconds later...**

I stepped toward the back of the truck and pulled a spare shirt from my jump bag. Once fully clothed, I fumed as I walked back into the club. When I reached the bathroom, I found the manager standing near the door.

"Mr. Pardo, we were looking for you," the manager said with a look of displeasure on his face.

"I'm looking for someone as well, so you'll have to wait." I attempted to push past him to go into the restroom where I'd left Steph.

He blocked my path. "Mr. Pardo, the young lady you are looking for isn't in there. She came out of here a few moments after your abrupt departure. She was terribly upset and had obviously been crying."

I knew where he was going with this. "Where is she, Frank?"

TBC ...

A/N: Dun...dun...dun! So what do you think? I know it's a little short but you get more on Monday, have a great weekend everyone! :)

Reviews = Sneak Peeks.

If you haven't checked out my Beta Jenrar's new story with her friend Drotuno. It is amazing. Their penname is Sarge's Girls.


	22. Chapter 22

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 22**

Disclaimer: Steph and Ranger are hers. The plot, Zek, Khalid, and Adara are mine.

A/N: I know the last chapter was short. But, I end the chapters where it feels right. So some might be short and some might be longer. But that's how all the chapters in this story have been, sorry if any one was upset.

Thanks for sticking with the story! And, remember! Reviews = Sneak Peeks!

More on Wednesday!

**Ranger's POV**

Frank gave me a stern look. "Mr. Pardo, you should know I'm not supposed to tell you that. You set up the protocol for such situations. Women in distress are to be spoken to and then, if necessary, escorted out of the rear exit and placed in a cab that will take them home, allowing them a safe escape if needed."

I glared at Frank Mancino for a few seconds before punching the wall, leaving a large indention in the drywall.

"Marc!" Frank screeched.

I held up my hands in surrender to my friend and business partner. "I'll fix it, I'll fix it! Now tell me where the hell she is."

"At first, she resisted leaving at all-until I told her that the best way to bring a stubborn man to his knees...is to make him think you've walked away. She chuckled before warning me that you were a very dangerous man. Also, if I wanted to keep all my teeth, once you figured out that she'd left with my assistance, I'd better tell you to meet her at your room."

Frank chuckled at me. "I have a feeling, Marc, that this girl will keep you on your toes. Now, how exactly are you planning to fix the mess you made of my wall?"

"You have no idea," I said wearily. "As for the wall, send me a bill."

I shook my head and took off running back toward the exit. I hopped in the truck and sped through town, trying to get to Steph as quickly as possible. As I pulled into the lot, my grip tightened on the steering wheel as I took in the sight of Steph sitting in front of the door, her gun in her hand.

I threw the SUV in park, jumped out, and ran toward Steph. "Babe, what happened?"

"The stupid cab driver wouldn't leave." She huffed before standing up. "I left my key to the room in the SUV because I didn't want to chance Adara seeing it. Evidently, the club has some stupid rule about making sure any person they drive home from Primal is safely inside before they leave. He decided that since I couldn't get in, I wasn't safe. I finally pulled my gun and threatened to shoot him to prove I could take care of myself."

I chuckled as I opened the door and made a quick sweep of the room before motioning her in.

As soon as the door was shut and locked, I spun her around, forcing her back against the door, and looked down into her cerulean eyes. "I can't lose you, Stephanie. I can't..." I captured her lips in a searing kiss before pulling back just a little. "Please don't push me away now. I just need to hold you...prove to myself that he didn't hurt you." I lowered my head to her neck and breathed in her scent, just trying to center myself.

She finally seemed to melt in my arms, wrapping her body around mine. "It's okay, Carlos. I'm here. I'm okay. Take what you need from me."

What I needed more than anything was to lose myself inside her warmth. I pushed her skirt up, flipped open the fly of my pants, and gripped Steph's legs, lifting her up and wrapping her legs around my waist. The only thought in my head was how good it would feel when her sweet nectar coated my cock.

I pushed her thong out of the way as I plunged inside in one quick thrust, pulling a gasp out of her. Staying still, I allowed her a few seconds to adjust to my size before I pulled out and thrust in again until I could go no farther. With every slam of my hips to hers, the door behind her creaked. Her hands grasped at my shoulders before one slid into my hair, which she tangled around her fingers and used to draw me down for a bruising kiss.

I continued the fast pace, bringing her closer to the edge. As I felt my balls begin to tighten, I reached between our bodies and teased her clit. As her pussy began to milk my cock, I pressed down on the sensitive bundle of nerves, sending her flying as I filled her with my seed.

We stood there, still joined, for several minutes as we tried to get our breath back. When Stephanie moved her shoulder and groaned softly, I cursed under my breath.

"Did I hurt you?" I asked quickly, disentangling us carefully before cupping her face in my hands. "I'm so sorry, Babe. I shouldn't have been so rough—"

"Shh," she said, shaking her head once. "I'm okay. Just tweaked my shoulder a little."

I felt like the asshole she'd accused me of being and knew I needed to make it up to her. Without saying more, I kicked off my shoes, stepped out of my jeans, and scooped her into my arms.

She squeaked in surprise and threw her arms around my neck as I carried her to the bed, intent on loving her like she deserved.

I lowered her to the bed and slowly began to remove her clothing. My hands glided lovingly over her body. I loved this woman, but I'd done a piss poor job of proving it earlier.

"Stephanie, I'm sorry about earlier. I...I handled the situation tonight rather poorly. I took out my anger and frustration on you. I said some things in anger that I didn't mean."

"You meant _some_ things. You don't trust me yet," she sighed.

I peered down into her eyes, hoping she'd see the truth in mine. "I do trust you. I was angry when I said that."

I saw the hesitation in her eyes. I knew the only way I would get her to believe me was to prove it, and I vowed to myself to do just that.

She was quiet a moment and then shrugged before saying, "Words said in anger are typically the truth because you don't have time to filter what you say. I'm sorry I caused you to get so upset."

I lowered my lips to hers as I moved over her body before gliding back into her warmth and relishing the feeling of sliding home.

_My home was with her. She was where I truly belonged. _

I kissed her sweetly before pulling back. "I love you, Steph."

She looked up at me from under her lashes, her eyes heavy with desire. "I love you, too. Now make me fly."

I was all too happy to oblige.

TBC ...

A/N: I know that probably isn't what you expected to happen but I hoped you enjoyed it none the less. ;)

Thanks to my Super Beta and Friend, Jenny!

Some of my favorite Fanfic stories -

Coming Home by Sarge's Girls

Auto Correct Fails by Tia Bella

Prank Wars by Jenrar

The Auction by Writersblock24


	23. Chapter 23

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 23**

Disclaimer: Steph and Ranger are hers. Adara, Khalid, Zek, and the plot are mine.

A/N: Thanks everyone for reviewing. The plot begins to thicken in the next couple chapters. I can't wait for you to see what's next!

To my super Beta and Bestie, Jenrar. You are the bomb! Talking to you makes my day brighter!

Remember, my lovely readers! Reviews = Sneak peeks at what the next chapter has in store, and believe me, I think you'll want this one! ;)

**Steph's POV**

I awoke the next morning with my head resting on Ranger's chest. The rise and fall from his breathing was hypnotic, and I could almost close my eyes and drift back to sleep, but my fingers had a mind of their own. As they lightly traced the dips and curves of his chiseled six pack, I thought about all that had happened the previous night.

_Something is off, and now I just have to figure out what._

"Deep thoughts, Babe?" Ranger's sleep roughened voice asked, startling me out of the memories of the past twenty-four hours.

I pulled back and really looked at the man before me, his eyes a molten chocolate laced with desire, and it dawned on me.

"Zek doesn't look at her like an old family friend. He was protective of her, but his gaze held a look of longing. He looks at her the same way you look at me. I want to say he loves her, Ranger, but Zek doesn't seem like a person capable of such an emotion."

Ranger looked at me for a moment. "I've known Zek a long time, Babe, and I've never seen him love anyone but himself."

"Maybe it's an act..." I trailed off, not finishing the thought. I twisted off the bed and grabbed the secure laptop from the table. I pulled up the file we had on Adara."There has to be something here we're missing. How did they meet? She introduced him as an old family friend. Could Zek have met them working undercover?"

"It's possible... What we'd really need access to is his sealed military record."

I blew out a sigh. "That will be nearly impossible, right?"

Ranger pulled out his secured SAT phone and began dialing a number from heart. I listened intently as I heard a person pick up on the other line. "Alpha code white raven one-one-two-zero."

A slight pause, and then a mumbled voice could be heard through the headset as a small smile curved Ranger's lips. "General Marshall." Another few beats of silence followed by Ranger answering, "Things are moving along, sir, but I do require your assistance. I need the contents of a sealed file."

I listened to the exchange for a few more seconds before tuning out. My mind drifting back to Zek and Adara's relationship. She seemed to genuinely like him, but only on a platonic level. I ran through the conversations I'd overheard between the two of them. Was there anything Adara had said that Zek could be misconstruing as flirting?

Ranger ended the call and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Babe?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. I was just trying to wrap my head around this. Were you able to get access to his file?"

"It's downloading now." He stood up and walked over to the small kitchenette, tossing me a pack of Pop-Tarts and grabbing a granola bar for himself.

"Did he give you any indication as to why his file was sealed, or is that standard protocol?"

"Standard protocol for anyone that does the type of work we do."

I walked over to the computer and scanned the file. "According to this, Zek was assigned to Adara's family. It looks like he was there as a security consultant."

Ranger stepped up behind me and looked over the file. "So that explains the relationship to some extent. But..." He pulled the computer toward him and scrolled down the screen."He was there for almost four years. Adara would have been seventeen years old when Zek arrived."

"How old was Zek?" I questioned.

"He was thirty-one at the time."

"Ewww...he's fourteen years older than she is. I wonder if he developed feelings for her then?"

"Don't know. You might be able to get a little more information about their relationship from her when you go into Naughty & Nice."

I looked at the time and groaned. "Guess I need to start getting ready to go into work."

The SAT phone rang, surprising me since I hadn't heard it ring the entire time we'd been Atlanta.

Ranger looked at the screen. "It's General Marshall." He answered, "General?"

There was a few seconds pause while Ranger listened intently on the other line.

"Thanks for the head's up, sir. I will try to take him into custody if the chance becomes available. But is his capture at this time worth putting my op in jeopardy?"

After listening to the response, he replied, "Understood sir," before closing the connection.

Ranger looked at me for a few seconds. I could almost see the wheels inside his head turning as he digested the new details.

The suspense was killing me. "Can you please tell me what that was all about? You're killing me here."

"Zek is supposed to be at Camp Leatherneck. Flight info shows him on his flight, but he never arrived on base. So if Zek is supposed to be consulting in Afghanistan, why is he here in Atlanta?"

"Why would he do that? Is keeping you his puppet really worth all this trouble, or is this about Adara?"

"I have no explanation for any of his behavior. At first I thought it was about me. But...maybe I'm just an excuse he needs to justify his actions."

"I think the key to figuring out why Zek doesn't want you to find Khalid is figuring out what Zek's relationship is with Adara. I'm starting to think it has a lot less to do with you completing your contract and a lot more to do with Zek having something to hide about his relationship with the girlfriend of a known terrorist."

I went into work later that day to find a note from Adara sitting on my desk.

_"Diana, I am so frazzled. I sent some of your sketches to our distributers. They want to meet immediately to discuss picking these designs up. I have meetings all over the city throughout the next two days. I want you to stay here and work on designs. We can conference you in when necessary."_

The following days yielded little results in my quest for information from Adara, considering she had been in non-stop meetings. It seemed my sketches were quite a hit.

Zek had made himself scarce. Maybe he knew we were on to something. Maybe he was plotting his next move, or perhaps he was putting some diabolical plan in motion.

The office phone rang, and I picked up the line. "Diana speaking, how may I help you?"

I guess I'd spoken too soon, as Zek's voice hissed in my ear. "I have tried several ways to warn you, Stephanie. You are in way over your head. This is my last warning, and you would do well to heed it."

"What don't you want us to figure out, Zek? That you've known Adara for years? That you are supposed to be in Afghanistan, but for some reason, you are in Atlanta? What deep dark secret don't you want us to know?"

"You will never understand. This is bigger than your teeny tiny brain can comprehend. You won't keep me from what I desire. Go back to Trenton, Stephanie Plum. Go back to your cushy life and leave Ranger to fight his own battles before you get yourself killed."

The line went silent, and as I hung up the phone, I spoke to Ranger, who I knew had been monitoring my conversation. "He will never understand the concept of love. You don't run away when things get rough. You turn and face the storm together."

TBC ...

A/N: What do you think he will do next? Where's the ever-illusive Khalid?

Tune in Friday for more.


	24. Chapter 24

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 24**

Disclaimer: Adara, Khalid, Zek, and the plot are mine.

A/N: Thanks everyone for sticking with this story. Please review. It's the only way I know that you like what I'm doing and that you want me to continue spinning the web that is Sacrifices. Reviews also get you a sneak peek at the next chapter before I post it.

Check out my profile page. There is a link to the Shutterfly page with pictures for this story.

I have the best Beta in the whole wide world. I love you, Babe!

* * *

**Steph's POV**

Ranger wasn't happy with Zek's newest threat against my safety. But he knew that if Zek was this threatened by us, we must be getting close to unraveling the mystery.

We spent the next few days trying to gather more intelligence about Zek and trying to locate where he was holed up in Atlanta. I'd finally gotten a chance to speak to Adara about Zek, and she seemed aware that he desired her but didn't think it went anything beyond mild flirting. I'd had a really hard time keeping my mouth shut because I knew Zek's intentions were anything but mild.

We were getting ready to close up the office for the day when the door to the warehouse was thrown open and a dozen men in SWAT gear came storming into the room, guns drawn.

I held my hands up in surrender, and Adara yelled, "What's the meaning of this? Do you know who I am?"

Once the men yelled that the space was clear, one man pushed his gun to the side and started talking. "Adara Majidah, my name is Agent Malone. You are under arrest for aiding and abetting a suspected terrorist."

Malone made his way toward Adara, and she started sneering. "Khalid is innocent. He was set up, and if your government would get its head out of its ass, they would realize that. Throw me in jail. I'll never tell you where he is. My attorney will have me out before day break."

"Sweetheart, you are forgetting that our government passed the Patriot Act, and since you are being charged with terrorism, we don't even have to try you. We can hold you indefinitely."

Adara's eyes flashed to mine, and Agent Malone seemed to finally acknowledge my presence. "Who are you?"

I opened my mouth to speak, and Adara interrupted me. "Her name is Diana Prince. She's my employee. She knows nothing about Khalid. I've never even mentioned him to her."

_Little did she know that I knew quite a bit about Khalid and that I wanted to know where he was to get Ranger out of his contract._

Agent Malone motioned for us to sit down. "All right, guys tear the place apart. Find what we need to locate Khalid."

I wanted to tell him good luck with that, but for once in my life, I kept my thoughts to myself.

Within a few hours, the agents had searched everything. Agent Malone walked over to us, asked Adara to stand, and then another agent snapped cuffs on her wrists and ushered her away.

Agent Malone turned to me and threw some papers on the table near me. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Diana. Do you know Khalid?"

_Shit! What should I say? Ranger and I had never discussed what I should do in this situation. _"No, I don't know Khalid."

"Care to explain those, then?" He gestured to the papers he'd tossed on the table.

I glanced at the papers and knew I was in trouble. The papers showed money transfers from me into an account I knew from my research was linked to Khalid.

"That has to be a mistake. I have never wire transferred money. I wouldn't even know how."

"When it comes to terrorism, you are guilty until proven innocent. And until we can prove your story correct, we are going to place you under arrest. Cuff her."

A second agent walked up to me and placed his hand on my elbow, lifting slightly, silently telling me to stand up. He cuffed my hands and escorted me out of the front of the building and into a black SUV. I looked up and caught Ranger's eye down the street. He winked at me and took off for his vehicle.

_Well, at least it looks like he has a plan._

The vehicle took off down the street and turned the corner, and I saw Zek leaning against a car. He had a wicked smile on his face as he placed two fingers to his head and gave a small salute.

I didn't know what his plan was, but having Adara and me arrested seemed like a major screw up for Zek. What did he plan to accomplish with this?

**Ranger's POV**

I knew we were in trouble when I saw the FBI-issued SUVs roll up and secure the exits to Naughty and Nice. I wanted to call Steph and tell her to get the hell out of there, but there was no time.

I listened to Agent Malone and knew that Zek had to be responsible for this. He was going to expose Steph to Adara and try to use the betrayal to get her to turn in Khalid to the FBI, rendering my capture deal null and void.

I winked at Steph, hoping she'd understand. I'd figure out some way to fix this. Taking off for the SUV, I quickened my steps. I had some phone calls to make.

I punched in the codes to get me direct access to General Marshall. When he answered, I tried to remain calm as I explained what had just happened.

General Marshall listened intently before asking, "What do you need?"

"I need an executive order, transferring Adara and Steph to my custody."

"That won't happen, and you know it. The best I could do is to try to get them transferred to Fort Stewart. But that will take time."

"I guess that will have to do. I also need to work on getting Steph out of this mess. If she gets locked up with no way out, it would kind of defeat the purpose of me getting out of this damned contract in the first place."

"Anything else?" General Marshall asked. Luckily, he had become a father like figure to me, so I knew he would try to accomplish anything I asked of him.

"Get me a meeting with Agent Malone. I need to at least let him in on the situation with Steph before he runs her prints and realizes there is no Diana Prince. If I can't stop him from running her prints, all of RangeMan will descend upon Atlanta. We've got to try to rush this before Zek figures out a way to get to the girls. If he gets to them first, he'll blow Steph's cover. It's the only way he can guarantee that Adara no longer trusts Steph."

_Several hours later..._

I walked into the downtown Atlanta office of the FBI, moving quickly to the first security check. Giving them my name, I showed them my government issue ID and handed over my gun.

A few short minutes later, I was greeted by Agent Malone. "Mr. Manoso, Director Mueller called and said for me to help you in any way I can. Said you had worked with him hand in hand on several national security matters."

"Agent Malone, I'm here about two suspects you took into custody today. Can we head to your office? I think you need to be brought up to speed on the entire situation."

"I think I know more than you think I do. I had an interesting visitor just a few hours ago. A man by the name of Ezekiel Richards."

"Please tell me you didn't allow him access to the women you brought into custody today." I was ready to strangle this man. How could he be so stupid?

"His credentials checked out. I had no reason to doubt him."

_Shit!_

TBC...

A/N: Well... what do you think happened? What did Zek tell Adara?

Tune in Monday to find out.

Reviews=Sneak Peeks


	25. Chapter 25

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 25**

A/N: The plot, Adara, Zek, and Khalid are mine. The rest are hers.

Disclaimer: You all are amazing! Thanks so much for the reviews. I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this story. My little girl's pet bunny died Saturday night, and I would just like to say thanks to all the reviewers for being so understanding about the sneak peeks being delayed this weekend while I comforted my little one. Also, thanks so much for the kind words and well wishes for her. :)

I would just like to say again that I don't intentionally leave you guys with cliffhangers, even though it might seem that way. Cliffhangers are a good way to build drama and add to the suspense of the story. I always have an "Ah Hah!" moment when I'm working on a chapter. That's what determines my chapter breaks.

Hope that makes sense.

Jenrar - Babe, you are amazing! That's all I can say!

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**Steph's POV**

Agent Malone escorted Adara and me into an interrogation room. "You two have a seat. I'll be back in a few minutes. I'd advise you to spend the next few minutes making some decisions. You can either tell us where Khalid is, or we'll lock you up."

Adara waited for the door to close and then turned around and looked at me. "I'm sorry that you were dragged into this, Diana. I promise I will figure out a way to get us out of this."

I was about to respond when the door opened up again, and Zek walked into the room. Adara stood up and flung herself into his arms as he began to speak. He just held her for a few minutes, murmuring to her that everything would be all right.

Adara started talking. "Zek, you've got to help us. Diana shouldn't even be involved in this. I have to get her out of this. I promised her."

Zek placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her face until her eyes met his. "You shouldn't make promises to her. She isn't who you think she is."

Adara's eyes flew to mine as I glared at Zek. "You're one to talk, Zek."

Adara finally seemed to find her voice. "What is he talking about, Diana? What does he mean?"

_Of course the part of the conversation she latches onto is him blowing my cover._

Luckily for me, Agent Malone walked into the room, and I was able to avoid answering the question.

"Mr. Richards, your five minutes is up."

Zek stood up, and as he walked to the door, he told Adara, "Remember what I said the other night, dear heart. Be careful of trusting that sixth sense of yours."

Agent Malone closed the door behind Zek and immediately started in on Adara. "So did you decide to cooperate, Ms. Majidah?"

Adara crossed her arms and started at him.

"You'll regret not cooperating," Agent Malone sneered as he turned and walked from the room.

I placed my arms on the table and rested my head, trying to gather my thoughts and deciding what I wanted to say to Adara, the woman who had somehow become someone I cared about.

I decided that honesty might be the best policy, but if I told her the truth...how would I ever get her to trust me again?

Luckily for me, a female agent walked into the room. "Ms. Prince, come with me."

_Well, at least I can bury my head in the sand for a little longer._

I stood up and followed the woman, who escorted me into a small room with a digital fingerprint scanner, camera, and computer.

"Diana, please place your right thumb on the scanner."

I shook my head. "You can't run my prints. Please get Agent Malone. I have to speak to him."

She pressed a button on the wall. "Malone, Ms. Prince would like to speak with you."

He walked into the room a few moments later. "Well, that didn't take long. Ready to throw your boss to the sharks already?"

"You've got to let me make a phone call. You're messing up a military operation. My name's not Diana. I'm working undercover, and you just fucked up by letting that psychopath in the damn room to blow my cover."

"A military operation? Who's your commander? What branch of service?" he asked, obviously not trusting anything I said.

_Shit, he doesn't believe me. _"Look, I know how this is going to sound. But I'm not in the military. I'm working as an independent contractor, helping out a friend, you might say."

Malone snorted. "You might say it sounds like bullshit to me." He turned to the woman in the room. "Run her prints."

"You can't run my prints. You're going to fuck everything up. Listen to me, please. Just let me make a call. My partner will be freaking out. I need to tell him that Zek just blew my cover. Please, Agent Malone. Trust me on this." I was beginning to get desperate.

He shook his head to the woman, and she hit enter on the keyboard, running my fingerprints in the national database.

The computer began to beep, and the woman squeaked, "Ummm...sir. We have a problem."

Agent Malone walked up behind her to glance at the screen. "Shit!"

Curious myself about what the screen showed, I leaned over until I could see the screen. Big letters blinked across the screen.

**WARNING**! CLASSIFIED INFORMATION! CONTACT GENERAL MARSHALL IMMEDIATELY!

Agent Malone straightened up and began to pace the floor.

"I tried to warn you." I stated matter-of-factly.

"What's your real name?" he asked.

"I don't think I need to answer your questions. In fact, I'm thinking the less you know about the truth, the better."

He stormed from the room to hopefully make a phone call to General Marshall, which would hopefully get me the hell out of this situation.

Eventually, the woman received a text message and asked me to go with her. She took me back to an interrogation room. "General Marshall told us to keep you and Adara separated until you and your handler had a chance to speak. He should be here shortly."

It seemed like a lifetime had passed before Ranger finally walked into the room and swept me into his arms. "You okay, Babe?"

"Yeah. The hospitality's kind of lacking, but nothing I couldn't handle."

Agent Malone walked into the room carrying a tray with sandwiches, chips, and water. "Here's the food you requested, Mr. Manoso. If I can be of any further assistance, please let me know." With that, he turned and began to walk out of the room.

Ranger spoke before Agent Malone shut the door. "Please make sure Ms. Majidah is fed. She's to be treated with the utmost care."

Agent Malone slammed the door. He obviously didn't like taking orders.

I looked at Ranger and tried to raise my eyebrow. "Mr. Manoso, what happened to using your alias?"

"Babe, we're sitting in the Atlanta office of the FBI. I've worked enough undercover OPs for the FBI that I don't need to hide my identity. Agent Malone said he let Zek in. What did Zek say to Adara?"

"I'm sorry, Ranger. He blew my cover. He told her I wasn't who she thought I was. Agent Malone pulled Zek out before he had a chance to tell her my real name."

"Adara said Khalid was innocent when they first barged into the warehouse. Do you believe her, Babe? Or do you think she just wants to believe he's innocent?"

"I think she's right. The more I learn about Zek, the more I'm starting to think that he is to blame for this whole thing somehow."

"I agree. Now we need to talk about where we go from here. General Marshall has arranged for the two of you to be transferred to Fort Stewart. I think once you get there, you open up to her. Tell her the truth about everything. Tell her you lied to her, to save the man you love. She should understand that on some level. Then work your magic, Babe. Convince Adara that we believe her. You have to get her to tell you where Khalid's hiding-because I believe that if Zek finds him first, Khalid's a dead man."

TBC...

A/N: Well what do you think?

Reviews will get sneak peeks.


	26. Chapter 26

**Sacrifices **

**Chapter 26**

Disclaimer: The plot, Adara, Zek, and Khalid are mine. The others are hers, and I'm just playing with them.

A/N: Well I forgot that last Wednesday was a holiday. I figured it out Tuesday night. LOL! Anyway, we got busy, and I never had time to work on getting the chapters up. I had a wonderful time with my little ones and our family, so I will say it was worth it.

But in order to make it up to my lovely reader, I decided to post today and not wait until Monday. :)

I'm glad everyone is enjoying this adventure so far.

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**Ranger's POV**

Steph and I spent the next little bit talking through possible scenarios about what might happen and what needed to be accomplished while Agent Malone was arranging transport for Adara and Steph. General Marshall and I had agreed to transfer the girls separately but place them together in a cell upon arrival at Fort Stewart. This would allow Steph a few days to work her magic.

Three days...That was how long I was going to give Steph to get the information from Adara. My conscience wouldn't allow Steph to spend more than three nights in jail. Knowing that she was locked up behind bars, in an effort to help me, was almost more than I could take.

"Deep thoughts?" Steph asked, pulling me out of my musings.

"Three days, Babe. You have to get his location by then. I can't let you stay in jail in an attempt to help me. I never should have brought you into this, Stephanie."

She placed her fingers to my lips. "Did you not here what I told Zek the other day when he called? You don't run away when things get rough. I meant what I said. We'll face this together."

_Later that day..._

Steph and I walked into General Abrams' office at Fort Stewart.

General Abrams stood and extended his hand to Steph. "Ms. Plum...Mr. Manoso. My name is General Marcus Abrams. I'm in charge here at Fort Stewart."

She gave him one of her breathtaking smiles. "General."

The General passed Steph a small satchel. "Inside, you will find your prisoner uniform and intake items. You can use the restroom across the hall to change."

Steph gave me a small smile before leaving the room.

Once she was out of the room, I looked at the General. "Sir, I have to ask one additional favor. Allow me to work inside as a guard. Adara doesn't know who I am, and I'll be more comfortable if I can keep an eye on Ms. Plum."

Reluctantly, he agreed before picking up his phone and requesting an MP uniform to be brought up to his office in my size.

When Steph walked back into the room, General Abrams stood up and spoke. "I will step out and give you a few minutes. When I come back, I'll escort Ms. Plum to her cell."

As the door shut behind the General, I pulled Steph into my arms. I wanted to hold her for just a few moments.

A knock on the door brought us back to reality. "Mr. Manoso, I've got your MP uniform." a young man in uniform announced as he held out a dress bag. He handed it to me and then closed the door behind him on his way back out of the room.

Steph's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "MP uniform?"

"I asked General Abrams to let me go in as a guard. That way I can keep an eye on you."

Steph bit out, "I don't need you keep an eye on me. The only thing I need right now is some time alone to talk with Adara."

I didn't get the opportunity to explain myself further because General Abrams walked back into the room.

"Ms. Plum, if you'll please come with me."

He held open the door, and I watched with trepidation as Steph walked out of the room and into the lion's den.

**Steph's POV**

As we began to walk down the hall, General Abrams began to speak. "It's a really admirable thing you are doing, Ms. Plum. Many people would never have agreed to do something like this."

"He would do the same for me," I stated matter-of-factly.

"How can you be so sure?"

"He walked in unarmed to save me from a madman."

"So you both have a tendency to do crazy things for one another? That explains a lot." He chuckled.

"We love each other," I said with a small smile.

Ranger must have set a new land speed record changing into the MP uniform because he caught up to us as we approached the cells.

We arrived at the cell, and I saw Adara sitting on her bed, reading. She glanced up at us as we approached, rolled her eyes, and turned away.

I looked back at Ranger, and he gave me a small wink as General Abrams opened the cell door. I walked into the room and spun around to face Ranger as he walked up, placing his hand on the cell door and pulling it closed. His eyes looked almost haunted by what he'd just done. I tried to send him a small smile as he backed away, and then I turned around to face my new cell mate.

_Well, here goes nothing._

As the guys made their departure, I turned to face Adara. "Well, this wasn't how I expected our week to go."

"You never answered my question, Diana. What did Ezekiel mean?"

I sighed. "My name isn't Diana. My name is Stephanie. I lied to you for a reason that I believe you will understand on some level. I lied to you to try to save the man I love."

"What makes you think I'd understand that?"

"I know about Khalid. I know that he is your boyfriend."

"So you lied to me in order for me to give up Khalid."

"At first, maybe..."

Adara stood up from the bed and took a few steps toward me, her hands shaking in fury. "I trusted you. I let you into my business-the business that I built from nothing. What did you think?" Her words were laced with venom. "That you would worm your way in as my friend, and I would tell you everything? Give up Khalid's location to you, and you would run off, capture him, and what? Collect a handsome reward and run off to live happily ever after?"

"Would you shut up and let me explain?" My Jersey-girl attitude was beginning to make an appearance.

Adara crossed her arms and glared at me. "Go on."

"At first, our intention was to find Khalid. But, the more we learned, the more we started to realize that something wasn't right. You said to Agent Malone, that Khalid is innocent. Do you really believe that?"

"I can't answer that. I can't trust you anymore."

"I can understand you feeling that way, but please know that I never did any of this to hurt you. I do genuinely like you, Adara. I'm sorry that I had to lie."

"No, you're not. Not if you were really doing this for love." Adara's eyes filled with tears. "Khalid would never do what he's accused of. I know he didn't bomb the U.S.S. Cole. I was with him the day the bombing happened. We were on vacation together away from the city. When the news started to show his picture as a suspect, we were shell-shocked. I contacted my father, and we learned that our fathers had already been in contact with each other. They had hired attorneys to fight the charges, but because of the nature of the crime, they thought Khalid should hide. That we should let the attorneys fight the charges."

"That obviously that didn't work out so well."

"Obviously." Adara walked over to the bed and sat back down. "Now it's your turn, Stephanie. Before I say anything else. You said I should trust you. Now, convince me why I should."

TBC...

A/N: Well what do you think?

Do you want the next chapter tomorrow or Monday? Review and tell me. :)


	27. Chapter 27

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 27**

Disclaimer: The plot, Adara, Zek, and Khalid are mine. The others are hers, and I'm just playing with them.

A/N:Thanks, everyone, for sticking with me. I can't wait to hear what you think about this chapter. We are steadily approaching the end, and I'm trying to decide if I want to end _Sacrifices_ and start a sequel or not. Decisions...decisions.

Thanks to Jenny. You are the best!

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**Steph's POV**

I looked Adara in the eye and started speaking from the heart. "Ranger is the love of my life. But I think the only way to convince you is to start from the beginning." Walking over to the bed, I took a seat beside her. "I was a lingerie purchaser for E.E. Martin."

"I've heard of them. They were sold due to mob affiliations, right?"

"Right. Trying to find a job after that made me about as appealing as a leaper. Anyway, I blackmailed my cousin for a job."

Adara's eyes rose at the word blackmail.

"Oh, don't give me that look. It's not as bad as it seems." I gave an exasperated sigh before continuing. "I blackmailed him into letting me work at his bail bonds office. He had a bounty hunter out due to surgery, and I was desperate for money. I finally convinced him to let me go after a high-bond skip." I glanced at Adara to make sure she was listening.

"Things weren't going well, so my friend called in a favor to her primo bounty hunter, and that's how I met Ranger. He became the Professor Higgins to my Eliza Doolittle. He took me under his wing and tried to teach me how to be a bad ass. When it became apparent that I'd never accomplish that, he decided to try to teach me how to stay safe. There were times when I was obviously in over my head, and he'd swoop in to be my knight in shining armor." I spent the next hour talking about Ranger and me, explaining our relationship, explaining Joe. I told her about the deal.

"How can men be so stupid? How did he convince himself that walking out the next morning was the way to handle that situation?" she asked, looking both perplexed and disgusted.

"I'm not sure what he was thinking, but I'm pretty sure that men think with the wrong head most of the time." I shrugged. "Anyway, we've both made some mistakes over the years. I never should have let him push me back to Joe."

"A little over a year later, I had to finally step up to the plate and help Ranger. His daughter was kidnapped by a man named Edward Scrog, who wanted to take over Ranger's life. His daughter and I were a crucial piece to his fantasy. Scrog finally achieved his goal and held the two of us hostage in my apartment. Ranger walked into the apartment unarmed and took two bullets in an attempt to save us. I realized that I loved him that day."

I stood up and started pacing the room. I was telling Adara things I'd never told another living soul. And quite honestly, I had never dealt with my emotions from the day. Ranger had almost died. I'd never told anyone just how scared and haunted I was after that.

"I was tied to a chair. My mouth was covered with duck tape. I had no way to warn him, no ability to tell him to run or that I loved him. I sat there strapped to that chair with tears streaming down my face as Ranger looked me in the eyes for one brief second and then turned to face a mad man. I watched my mentor, my friend, my lover, the only man I trusted with my life, take two bullets and almost bleed out on my rug. I really thought I'd lost him that day. I feared I'd lost the opportunity to tell him how I felt. "

I brushed a tear from my eye as I stopped pacing and turned to face Adara. "I understand your situation better than you think I do, Adara. I understand what it's like to fear that the man you love is in danger. I know what it's like to be terrified that he might die. Ranger works special operations for the government. He's under contract, and they basically own him. My meeting you was no accident. Ranger brought me in to help him try to get out of his contract. The government offered to mark his contract complete for capturing Khalid."

By the end of my speech, Adara's face was nearly purple with anger. "I'll never tell you where he is," she spat at me. "You're just using me. I knew it!"

"Initially, yes. It was my intention to use you. To get the information that we needed, capture Khalid, and start our lives together. But not anymore. Zek isn't who you believe him to be. He was working undercover for the U.S. government when he first started consulting for your family, Adara."

"You're lying..." She was fighting tears.

"No, I'm not. And while you might not want to believe me, you have to, Adara. Khalid's life is at stake, and I'm positive that Zek is the center of all of this. Zek is Ranger's handler, and he has done everything in his power to keep us from finding Khalid."

"If Zek is keeping you from finding Khalid, it's to protect him," Adara snarled at me.

"Why do you think I was asking you about your relationship with Zek? I believe that Zek is in love with you, and I also believe that he is somehow responsible for Khalid being charged with a crime he didn't commit."

I went to lay down on my bed before I started to speak again, "I am afraid that time's running out. If we don't find Khalid before the FBI does, you'll be burying his body before you can prove his innocence. Let me help you. Please?" I prayed that I'd said enough to at least convince her to begin to trust me.

"I'll think about it," Adara stated before turning on to her side and falling into a restless sleep.

I'd never been a very good Catholic, but I took some time to say a few prayers before I closed my eyes to finally get some rest.

**Ranger's POV **

Shutting that cell door was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. General Abrams lead me over to a bank of monitors. He told the guy on shift that I was his relief for the next two hours.

"You've got two hours, Manoso. Then I want you to report to the barracks and get some rest," he ordered before walking away and leaving me to watch Steph and Adara on the tiny screen. I turned the volume up a little and listened to their conversation.

Hearing Stephanie talk to Adara about our history was difficult, but she seemed to be winning Adara's trust. She had a way with people. But hearing how I'd treated her over the years made me cringe. I'd been an ass, and she deserved so much better from me. Once this was over, I swore to myself that I would spend the rest of our lives making it up to her.

My Sat phone rang, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yo."

"Where are you hiding them, Carlos?" Zek's voice sneered through the line.

"That's for me to know, old man."

"When will you ever learn not to bite the hand that feeds you? You know that I will find them eventually. It would be so much better for you to just tell me now. I'll come pick up Adara. You can take Stephanie home. I'll make sure that you finish out the remaining five years of your contract without ever leaving US soil. It will be win-win for both of us."

"You have that in writing, with General Marshall's signature and the President's?" The terms he was offering could be win-win in some ways. I could walk away now and start my life with Steph. I'd still have the contract over my head, but staying stateside cut the risk down to minimal.

"No, but you know I could get it."

The more I debated this option, the more I knew it would never work. There was no way that Steph would ever agree to let this go. "I really don't think you could, considering you're currently AWOL. Why don't you help me understand this, Zek? What's your end game here?"

"My end game is the same as yours. Spending the rest of my life with the woman I love. My way ensures we both get what we desire, and it guarantees cooperation between us until your contract's complete. Khalid is a pawn. Let him take the fall to keep the kingdom in check." Zek thought he had me right where he wanted me.

"You seem to be forgetting that I don't let innocent people suffer for things that are beyond their control. No deal, Zek."

"_You_ forget, Carlos, that I am very good at what I do. Khalid's death was arranged long ago. He will die, and once he takes his last breath, I'll make sure Ms. Plum will follow soon after."

The line beeped as the call ended.

That son-of-a-bitch had forgotten one thing...

_I was the government's angel of death. And Zek had just signed his death certificate._

TBC ...

A/N: Well? What do you think?

Please review!


	28. Chapter 28

**Sacrifices **

**Chapter 28**

Disclaimer: The plot, Adara, Zek, and Khalid are mine. The others are hers, and I'm just playing with them.

A/N: When I start a story, I have an idea in my head, a general plot about what will happen and as I write the story I follow the plot as my road map. Sacrifices started the same way, it was all planned out...all the way to the end.

And then something happened, I began to care a little bit too much for certain characters to do what I had originally planned.

And what that means is that, I had to come to terms with losing a story element I loved. Which left this story without an ending. So I've spent the last two weeks figuring out a completely different ending, and I've done that with the tireless help of the best Beta in the world, Jenrar. Love you, Babe!

So now, on with the show.

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**Steph's POV**

I awoke the next morning, rolled over, and landed on the floor. "Shit!" I mumbled.

Adara laughed. "I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up. I don't know how you can sleep with all that noise outside."

I listened for a few minutes and could hear the distinct sound of military men getting in their morning exercise. "People in the military really should have their heads examined. It should be against the law to exercise before nine a.m."

I stood up, rubbing my sore behind, and walked to the door of the cell. Aside from the noise from the men outside, things were quiet.

When Adara spoke, breaking the silence, I nearly jumped in surprise.

"I want to keep Khalid safe. Keeping him safe has always involved me not trusting anyone and keeping my own council. I trusted you and let you in. You broke that trust, Stephanie. How am I supposed to trust you now?"

"Blind faith isn't easy, Adara. I know that better than anyone. Blind faith is leaving a secured building through an air vent and using a window washing unit to get off the roof."

Adara gave me a funny look.

I shrugged. "Long story. Let's just say we do stupid things for love and leave it at that."

"You can't give me a tidbit like that and not explain what happened. Besides, we've got nothing but time on our hands."

I really didn't want to go into this, but if it helped loosen her up...

"Ranger owns a security business. He went off grid, and the guys that work for him couldn't find him. Unbeknownst to me, there were security protocols in place that required the guys to get me to a secure location. I was startled awake from sleep by his employees beating down my door. They took me to his apartment on the top floor of his office building. A few hours later, my cell phone rang. It was Ranger, and he needed my help. He told me to go into the closet. There was an escape hatch inside that led to the roof. He left instructions for me to get to the airport and take a flight to Atlanta. And you pretty much have figured out the rest."

"Yeah, the rest is where you used me," Adara huffed.

"I never meant to hurt you, Adara. Ranger signed a contract to work special operations for the US government. Zek was his handler. At first, we believed that Zek didn't want Ranger to get out of his contract and that was why he was here. You told me last night that Khalid didn't bomb the ship. I believe you, but I've got to ask...Are you sure he wasn't involved in planning the bombing?"

"I know he didn't bomb the ship, and I swear to you, I don't believe he knowingly had anything to do with planning the attack. He isn't a terrorist," Adara stated adamantly.

"I believe you...but you aren't going to like what I have to say. I know Zek is someone you trust, but I truly believe that Zek is the mastermind behind this whole thing. I think that he didn't want Ranger getting involved with finding Khalid because he was afraid that Ranger would figure out that Khalid is an innocent man. Ranger is the best in the business. Zek was terrified that Ranger would figure out he was responsible for this somehow and turn him into the authorities."

Adara looked stricken for a moment, and then she shook her head, looking down at her hands before meeting my eyes. "I just don't know who to trust anymore. But I'll take what you've said under advisement. It's the best I can do right now."

I nodded and turned back to look out the cell door.

The next two days were hell. I'd never really put much thought into what it would be like to be in jail, but even if I had, I wouldn't truly have been prepared. I was never really comfortable-the furnishings were hard, and the atmosphere was cold and sparse. Adara didn't speak much, choosing to keep to herself while she wrestled with the decision of whom to trust. Of course, that just seemed to make me ramble about random stuff because the silence was driving me crazy.

Ranger walked up to the cell and pointed to me. "You...come with me."

Adara gave me a quizzical look. I shrugged my shoulders before standing up and walking out of the room.

Once we were out of Adara's sight, Ranger pulled me into a room, snapping the door shut and pushing me into the wall.

"_Dios_, I've missed you," he murmured before brushing his lips across mine.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "I don't know what to say to her. I don't know how to get her to trust me."

"You're doing fine, Babe."

"Fine?" I repeated in an exasperated voice. "She's practically become a damn mute!"

"I've been keeping an eye on you two. You might not realize this, but your nonstop talking is working on her. She's warming up to you. You would know that if you were paying more attention to her body language."

"You're going to have to give me more time. I don't think she's ready to tell us yet. And my three days is up tonight."

"No. I told you. I can't leave you in longer than that. Apply some pressure, Babe. Tell her that I'm going to pull you out this evening and leave her in there alone. Maybe that will push her to tell you. But regardless of what she says...you're walking out of that cell tonight."

We spent a few moments just holding each other before I told him I was ready to go back into my cell. Once inside, I turned to Adara.

"They know the evidence against me was fabricated. I'm being released tonight." I sighed before continuing. "I don't like the idea of leaving you alone in here. I have begged and pleaded with you to trust me. There's nothing left that I can say to try to convince you that I believe Khalid was set up. I asked them to let me stay with you in here, but they refuse. I can't help you if you don't help me. Tell me where he is so we can figure out a way to fix this."

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "He's in Atlanta. He's always been right here."

"Where, Adara? Where is he hiding?"

Tears fell as she began to speak. "My father along with Zek set up a shell company back when they first met. They used the front to finance opposition forces in the Middle East. When it became apparent their efforts were in vain, they abandoned the endeavor and went their separate ways. But neither one ever took the time to completely dissolve the bogus company. I ran across the files a few years later while snooping in my father's office."

I prayed that Ranger was listening, I stood up and grabbed her some toilet paper to wipe her eyes.

She wiped her eyes before continuing. "No one was using the corporation, so once I'd established myself in Atlanta, I used the front to purchase a few safe houses around the city."

"Does Zek know any of this?"

"Zek knows Khalid is here, but I've never trusted him enough with where Khalid was hiding. After the things you've told me the past couple days, I'm glad I didn't."

I breathed a sigh of relief as she rattled off the address of where Khalid was staying.

TBC...

A/N: Please review. It's the only way I know what you think. There will probably only be one or two chapters left. Can you believe it?


	29. Chapter 29

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 29**

Disclaimer: Khalid, Adara, Zek, and the story are mine. Ranger and Steph belong to her.

A/N: I know! I'm sorry! Let's see what has gone on with me, since you last heard from me. I started a fulltime job. I messed up my back in August and dealt with flair-ups until January, when a disk ruptured, and I had to have surgery 9 days later. I tried writing while I was laid up on leave, but pain meds and writing are not a good combination. (Just ask Jenrar. Even IM conversations were quite funny.)

I am almost back to normal now and should be starting back to work this week. *fingers crossed* I'll work for 2 months and will be off until August.

The good news...**Sacrifices** is finished. I'm sending the final chapter to Jenny the Wonder Beta tomorrow and will post the last chapter this week! As long as the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise.

Many thanks go to my wonderful Beta and Bestie Jenny! You rock, Babe!

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**Ranger's POV**

_I had the information I needed. The key to my freedom. All I needed to do was go pick Khalid up and turn him over to General Marshal. But why did turning this man in...make me feel like the enemy? When did this mission become so morally gray?_

I pushed back from the bank of computers, calling for someone in the other room to come and relieve me. I stepped outside into the hall, calling General Abrams to tell him I was on my way up to his office and to start the process of releasing the girls.

Making my quickly through the maze of halls, I paused outside the office, breathing a sigh of relief. Soon, I would take Steph home and we could start our life together, without all of this shit hanging over my head.

I knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before I heard the general's gruff, "Come in."

"Sir," I said as I stepped into the room. "I will be leaving soon to go retrieve a suspect. If it isn't too much to ask, I'd like you to release Adara and send her home and send Steph back to our hotel. Tell her to wait for me there." I pulled a gun and Steph's hotel key from my pockets. "Here is Steph's room key and a gun for her."

I could see his hesitation before he spoke. "Does she know how to handle a weapon? I can't just go around handing guns over to civilians."

"She's been properly trained, and I really must insist that she keep it on her at all times."

"I've already sent someone down with their clothes. Are you sure you don't want to wait for her? She should be ready to leave in a few minutes."

"No, it's safer for her to not accompany me on this part of the assignment. I need one more favor, General." I waited for his nod before continuing with my request. "Don't give Adara back her cell phone. I know it was sent over with her personal belongings, but tell her it's been misplaced and that you will return it to her as soon as it shows up. I can't risk her warning the suspect."

The general gave me a nod. "I'll send Private Williams to escort Ms. Majidah and Private Jones to escort Ms. Plum."

His intercom chirped, and he hit a button and heard, "General, the female prisoners are on their way to your chambers."

His finger released the button. "If you don't want them going with you, you'd better leave leave now."

I saluted the man that had bent over backwards to help us. "Thank you, sir," I told him before turning and my heel and rushing to the SUV.

_Sometime later..._

I stopped the vehicle several houses down from the address Adara had given before getting out and walking up to the house. Steph's spidey-sense must have been wearing off on me because I'd felt like something was off since the moment I stepped outside the car.

Glancing at the front door confirmed my suspicions. The door was ajar.

I pulled my gun from its holster and quietly made my way inside. I moved as soundlessly as possible, checking each room as I worked my way through the house. At the sound of movement, I stopped just outside of what I assumed was a den.

"It's about time you joined the party, Carlos," Zek's voice rang out.

I stepped into the room, my gun pointed at Zek.

"Drop your weapon, or I'll put a bullet between his eyes," Zek snarled.

He moved out of the way, letting me see Khalid handcuffed to a chair. His head was hanging down in what seemed to be a semiconscious state. I noted blood dripping from several cuts on his face and torso.

I lowered my gun and bent down to place it on the ground. As I stood back up, I tapped a button on the recorder I'd slipped into my pocket. "Zek, what happened to you?"

"What happened to me!? What happened to you?" he growled, pointing the gun in my direction. "You were the perfect solider: no attachments, no entanglements, no emotional ties. Then that bitch entered the picture, and all of a sudden, you turned soft."

I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. "You are using that as an excuse, old man. We both know the reason you're here is because of Adara. You want her for yourself. Isn't that the real reason that all of this started?"

"She's mine. She's always been mine."

"Explain it to me, Zek. Because from where I'm sitting, she belongs to him." I tilted my head in Khalid's direction and was surprised to find him watching us.

Khalid was fighting to stay conscious and glaring at Zek through the blood and sweat dripping down his face. He growled, "She never listened to me. I told her you were obsessed with her. That you wanted a relationship with her, even when she was a mere child. I saw the way you looked at her. Anyone with eyes could see the way your eyes lingered."

"She wanted me to...until you came along." Zek screamed as he turned to backhand Khalid.

I decided to pull Zek's attention back to me. "So she met Khalid and fell in love. What happened next, Zek?"

"She wasn't happy. They would fight and she would cry. I cherished those times because it allowed me to comfort her. It also reaffirmed that she really did love me. She just hadn't realized it yet." He took a breath before continuing. "I knew that if I could just get her away from him, she would come running to me."

Khalid lifted his head off his chest. "It was you? You framed me for the bombing?"

"Adara helping you was the one thing I never saw coming."

"She loves him," I interjected, trying to pull Zek's rage away from the man strapped to the chair.

"Love... They don't even know what love is. Their parents pushed them together. Though I assure you, once her father learned of Khalid's treachery, he changed his mind."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Khalid yelled. "Her father helped hide us after I was wrongly accused."

I wished I could get Khalid to shut the hell up. A few more punches to his face and he might not survive this. "How did you do it, Zek? For that matter, why did you do it? Why did you betray our country? How did you ever get it in your sick, demented head that killing U.S. soldiers was the best way to win Adara's affection?" I had to know his reasoning.

"You think I hatched up this whole elaborate plot just to win her affection? I've been working both sides for years, Carlos. My loyalty has been available to the highest bidder for a long time. I can't believe the U.S. Army's best-paid soldier had no idea what was going on under his nose. Al-Queda paid me to set up the bombing of the USS Cole as a show of force. They paid me a handsome reward. Setting up the fool was just icing on the cake."

He pulled out his gun and aimed it Khalid. "Now, it's his time to die!"

I jerked my head at Khalid, hoping he'd understand what I wanted him to do, before I rushed Zek, barreling into him like a linebacker and knocking the gun off target. We crashed to the floor and the gun fell from his hand.

Zek snarled, "You stupid son of a bitch. I treated you like my own son."

We wrestled around, both trying to get the upper hand. Zek managed to get to his knees. I kicked out, knocking him backwards a few feet and allowing me to kip up from my back to my feet.

I could tell that Khalid was desperately trying to free himself from the chair, but there was little I could do to help him. Zek lunged for me, slamming his fists into my ribs. I used my arms to block his punches before landing my own. I didn't want to kill him. My goal was to arrest him and let him pay for his crimes.

He kicked out, but I grabbed his leg and pushed him backwards. Khalid shot a leg out, tripping Zek. To my horror, Zek fell on the gun I'd knocked from his hand earlier and picked it up before I could react.

He turned the gun toward me just as I heard someone turn the corner.

Steph screamed my name right as a shot pierced the air.

TBC...

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A/N: dun...dun...dun...

Yes I know it's a cliffhanger, but it's the last one in this story. I couldn't resist one more. :)

Tune in Friday morning...same bat time...same bat channel.

*smooches*

Now hit the review button and tell me who you think got shot!


	30. Chapter 30

**Sacrifices**

**Chapter 30**

Disclaimer: Khalid, Adara, Zek, and the story are mine. Ranger and Steph belong to her.

A/N: Well, here it is! The final chapter. Hope you enjoy, and please...please...please review. I'd love for this story to join the elusive 1000 review club.

Many thanks go to Jenny. You are so amazing, and this story just wouldn't have been the same without you!

* * *

**Steph's POV - **

A little while after Adara revealed the address to me, a soldier came and brought us our regular clothes and told us to change. Once we were ready, he escorted us up to General Abrams' office.

Adara looked over at me. "What's going on?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

When we walked inside, and General Abrams was seated behind his desk. He looked up as we entered.

"Ladies, it is my pleasure to tell you you're being released. You will find your belongs in these bags. Ms. Majidah, your phone is missing. Please know that we will take full responsibility and replace it post haste. Mr. Williams will escort you home."

Adara stood up to leave, and I was getting more pissed off by the minute. She turned and looked at me one last time before walking away.

I turned my attention to the man in front of me. "General Abrams, excuse my language, but where the fuck is Ranger? I fully expected him to be here."

"You have to understand the severity of the situation. He ordered me to release you both, but he had to get to the suspect before Adara had a chance to warn him."

"Her phone didn't really go missing, did it?"

"No, Ms. Plum. Her phone is right here."

The only thing flashing through my mind was that he'd left me, again. We were supposed to be partners, and he'd left without any backup.

"Ms. Plum, Mr. Jones is supposed to escort you back to the hotel. In your bag is your room key and your weapon. Mr. Manoso requested that you wait at the hotel for him."

My blood was boiling. How dare he leave me with a key to the hotel? Like I was ever going to just sit there and twiddle my thumbs while he put himself in danger?

"Ms. Plum," General Abramson spoke, giving me a worried glance. "I can see smoke coming out of your ears. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"If I gave Mr. Jones an address instead of the hotel, would he take me there? I don't have a lot of time to lose. Ranger can't go there alone. I have the address, and he'll need backup."

"He requested that you go to the hotel, though I can see you are worried. You technically are a civilian, and I can't really order you anywhere."

Hope began to flare.

"I have to warn you, Ms. Plum. It goes against my better judgment to allow you to follow Mr. Manoso. He's a highly decorated combat solider. But it also goes against my authority to say you can't decide where you are dropped off. If you ask Mr. Jones to drop you off at a different location, you need to be made aware that the U.S. Government is not responsible for anything that happens to you."

"I understand," I said, standing up and rushing toward the door, dragging Mr. Jones behind me.

As we got into the car, I rattled off the address to the driver and sat in the passenger seat, praying I wasn't too late.

_**A short time later...**_

Mr. Jones dropped me off at the house. I snuck up through the yard and could hear a fight going on inside. I rushed inside with my gun drawn, desperate to help my boneheaded man.

I rounded the corner of the room where the fighting occurred and saw Zeke raising a gun at Ranger. I screamed, "Ranger!" as I pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit Zeke in the shoulder, the impact from the bullet knocking him to the ground.

"You bitch," he cursed. "I should have fucking killed you when I had the chance."

Ranger pulled some cuffs out of his pockets and walked over to Zek, securing his hands behind his back.

I rushed over to Khalid's side. He was unconscious. I glanced down and noticed his chest rising and falling. "Please don't die on me. Adara would kill me if anything else happens to you."

Zek started screaming obscenities at everyone in the room. Ranger clocked him in the back of his head with his gun, knocking him out cold.

I turned toward the man I was furious with and placed my hands on my hips. "What was that?"

His eyes furrowed in confusion. "That was me capturing my fugitive. My contract's complete."

"I'm not talking about that... I'm talking about the promise you keep breaking. The one where you said we were partners. Partners don't run off half-cocked and leave the other person scrambling to catch up."

A voice from across the room interrupted my rant. "Who in the hell are you people?"

My head jerked toward Khalid. _Thank God! He's awake! _I stuck out my hand to Ranger. "Pass me your handcuff keys." Turning to look at Khalid, I explained, "My name is Steph, and I'm friends with Adara."

"I can't do that, Babe. He's still considered a terrorist. I have the evidence to clear him, but until he's released by the Attorney General, there's nothing I can do. I have to take him into custody."

I sighed, knowing that he was right, but still not liking the situation. "So, what do we do now?"

"We're going to call General Marshall, then transfer both of them to Fort Stewart. Then we're flying to DC to complete my exit papers. By tomorrow night, we'll be home."

A knot was forming in the bottom of my stomach. Khalid coming to had interrupted me. But after all this...after everything we'd been through...Ranger still didn't trust me. He'd be home tomorrow, but I was going there tonight.

"Babe?" he questioned.

I shook my head, "Let's get this show on the road. Call General Marshall."

_**Sometime later...**_

We were almost finished packing up the hotel room and loading things into the back of the SUV. Ranger had us booked for a red-eye flight to DC. What he didn't know was that when he was transferring Khalid and Zek to the prison at Fort Stewart, I was on the phone with Tank.

Ranger would be going to DC alone. I was going home. I loved him, but I couldn't stand the feeling that he still didn't trust me.

Ranger stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I tried to pretend nothing was wrong, but I couldn't help but tense up a little.

"Steph, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said flippantly.

He spun me around to face him, and I kissed him soundly on the lips. "Our plane is leaving soon. We need to go."

Denial was my best friend. Now I just needed to get away and think.

Once we got to the airport and got through security, I told Ranger I needed to use the restroom. I left him sitting at the gate. I turned the corner to head in the direction of the bathroom. Once I was out of his sight, I rushed over to the ticket counter, pulled out my ID, and handed it over the ticket agent.

"I'm Diana Prince, and I need to pick up my ticket to Trenton."

She typed on the computer for just a few seconds, and then my ticket was printing. She handed it over, and I turned around, running straight into Ranger's chest.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Planning to leave without me?"

"I'm going home."

"No, you're not. You're going to DC with me because you're going to listen to me." He grabbed my hand and tugged me behind him.

"Let go of me, Ranger!"

He pushed me up against the wall and crashed his lips to mine. I melted into the kiss.

Finally breaking the kiss, he rested his head against mine and sighed. "Babe, we've got to work on our communication skills. I know you're pissed off and you feel betrayed because I didn't wait for you. But you have to understand. I made a promise to you that you were getting out of that cell by the end of the day. I also needed to get to Khalid before Adara was free. You know as well as I do that if I'd left her in there, you wouldn't have left."

I sighed, really not wanting to admit that he was right.

"So...am I forgiven?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pecked his lips. "Only if you'll forgive me. I'm sorry that I was going to leave."

They called for the flight to Jersey, and I giggled. "You may want to call Tank. He's sending a Merry Man to pick me up at the airport."

Ranger raised his eyebrows. "He can sweat when you don't show up. I'll call him after your plane lands and ask where you are."

We went to sit down, ready to start of our next adventure.

_**The following day...**_

DC had been a whirlwind. We'd met with General Marshall, and then he'd taken us to lunch. He'd wanted to discuss continuing to hire out missions through RangeMan when needed.

Ranger had told him that RangeMan would consider it if he would work out similar outs for his men that wanted them. Ranger also made arrangements for him to become the handler for his men that wanted to finish out their contracts.

The plane ride back to Trenton was quiet and peaceful. Tank was waiting for us when we landed.

"Bombshell, you owe Hal an apology. He almost had a heart attack when he came to pick you up this morning and you weren't here." Then his attention turned toward his best friend. "I know you had your reasons for doing this the way you did. I hope it was worth it."

We walked out to the waiting RangeMan vehicle, and Tank chuckled when Ranger pulled me into the back seat with him. "Well, it's about time..."

I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep. Before long, Ranger was lifting me out of the seat and carrying me inside RangeMan. "Why aren't you taking me home?" I mumbled around a yawn.

He carried me into his seventh floor apartment. "You are home, Babe." He kicked the door closed behind him and looked down at me.

I looked up into his eyes and then kissed his lips. After everything we'd been through together, I knew he was right. I was finally home.

The End

* * *

A/N: See, no cliffy! So tell me what you thought.

I'm so sad it's over. Please, show me some love.

I know how you guys like smutty goodness, sooo...how about review if you'd like a smut-filled epilogue. That seems like a fair trade to me!


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